Researchers are recommending an upgrade in a widely used scoring system to ensure better heart disease diagnosis in women. They suggest leveraging big data and incorporating machine learning to improve the Framingham Risk Score system. The current design of the FRS means multiple cardiovascular conditions are overlooked and under-diagnosed in women due to the lack of specific factors within the female body that significantly affect their risk of heart attack or stroke. Women are more likely to be under-diagnosed, diagnosed at an older age, and with more severe symptoms than men when it comes to cardiovascular diseases.
Experts say misconceptions continue to portray heart attacks as a risk primarily in men, yet heart disease kills more women each year than all cancers combined. When women experience heart attack symptoms, they tend to delay going to the emergency room, and when they finally seek medical help, they may face bias from healthcare professionals. The symptoms of a heart attack in women are often different from those in men, including shortness of breath, reflux, nausea, and vomiting, which can be dismissed as indigestion or anxiety. Dismissing these subtler symptoms means delaying critical treatment, increasing the risk of complications from a heart attack.
A variety of non-traditional risk factors play a significant role in a woman’s heart health, including estrogen levels, pregnancy complications, autoimmune diseases, family history, depression, and breast tissue. Estrogen, which protects the heart by relaxing arteries and promoting the production of good cholesterol, decreases significantly during menopause, increasing the risk of developing conditions like diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Complications during pregnancy, such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, also indicate a woman’s risk of experiencing a heart attack, but these details are not routinely considered in cardiology.
Dr. Evelina Grayver, a cardiologist, believes that mammogram results should be part of the discussion when reviewing a woman’s overall health, especially her heart. She hopes that gender-specific evolution within the Framingham Risk Score will shift how society and healthcare professionals think about a woman’s risk of a heart attack. Grayver emphasizes the importance of not dismissing a woman’s symptoms and not assuming it’s anxiety, as improving the FRS can pave the way for new types of medicine and better healthcare. By considering specific risk factors that affect women’s heart health, such as estrogen levels, pregnancy complications, family history, and breast tissue, the FRS can provide a more accurate prediction of cardiovascular disease risk in women.
