NEW YORK, May 4 (UPI) -- A U.S. cardiologist says heart disease usually manifests in women at 60 instead of 50 as in men, when women's bodies are weaker and less able to fight disease.
"The problem has been growing for years," says Dr. Erica Jones, an associate professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and an associate attending physician at the Iris Cantor Women's Health Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City.
"But women have been slow to respond and get the preventative screenings and immediate medical help that can save their life. They need to."
Estrogen helps protect a women's heart, but after menopause things are different, according to Jones.
Symptoms can also be problematic -- while a man having a heart attack or heart problem may vomit, sweat profusely, or experience pressure like chest pain, women are more likely to feel subtle symptoms such as vague discomfort, fatigue, or nausea and attribute it to another cause, says Jones.
About 35 percent of women ignore symptoms or don't report them to a physician, and those who go to an emergency room can wait longer for treatment as physicians rule out other causes, says Jones.
