Two new studies reveal that men still have a higher prevalence of heart attack than women. Medical researchers report that the gap has narrowed as heart attacks among women have increased while they have decreased among men.
A study by researchers at the University of Southern California revealed that 2.5 percent of the men and 0.7 percent of the women reported a history of heart attacks in the prior surveys. In the more recent study, they found 2.2 percent of men and 1 percent of women reported heart attacks.
The narrowing of the male-female difference is easily explained, according to medical experts. They point to the fact that risk factors are being better controlled in men than in women. In men, levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol remained the same between the two surveys, while levels of “good” HDL cholesterol improved. Blood pressure levels improved, and fewer men smoked.
Researchers noted that the improvements for women were marginal, with LDL cholesterol levels about the same. The only risk factor that improved in women was HDL cholesterol. Diabetes and obesity increased in both men and women, the study found.
Tags: critical illness, health news, heart attack, medical news, men's health, women's health