Smoking, Diabetes and high blood pressure increase risk of heart attack in more women than men
They found that, overall, men had a far higher risk of heart attack than women over 7 years of follow-up. However, the effects of smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure raised women’s relative risk of a heart attack more than they raised the risk in men.
For example, female smokers had about 3.4 times the risk of having a heart attack as women who had never smoked, while male smokers had 2.2 times the risk of men who had never smoked.
The researchers warn that women could eventually “catch up” with men’s heart attack risk, as the population ages and conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure become more common. They say doctors need to be more alert to the risk of heart attacks in women, and ensure women with high blood pressure and diabetes are given access to the best treatments for their condition and advice on heart attack prevention.
