blood pressure than men. Rates for those three risk factors rose among both men and women throughout the study.
“That’s quite concerning, and it might provide insight into why we’re not seeing any improvements in rates of heart disease among younger adults,” said Brunham, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia and a physician at the Healthy Heart Program’s prevention clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital.
Women under 45 also had “significantly higher” rates of death than men.
“One important takeaway of our study for providers is that a woman who’s developed heart disease at a young age needs to be treated very aggressively,” said Dr. Simon Pimstone, co-senior author of the study. “We’re not as good at diagnosing coronary disease in women, who often present differently than men. We still have a lot to learn.”
Pimstone and Brunham are leading a program called SAVE BC (Study to Avoid cardioVascular Events in BC) that uses