Dr. Cynthia Shelby Lane Answers Your Questions About Heart Disease

Last month I gave you the opportunity to submit the questions you'd like answered.  Many of you took advantage of the opportunity and asked a question - thank you!  You'll be very pleased with the results of this interview and the answers and insight Dr. Shelby-Lane has provided.

Lisa Nelson RD #1:  What role does temperament/personality play in a person's heart disease risk? Does it have a direct affect on cholesterol levels or blood pressure?

Dr. Shelby-Lane: Temperament and personality have a definite effect on blood pressure and on heart disease.  This is a great question and it has been studied by the experts, as you will note in the following excerpts.  Heart disease consists of congenital abnormalities, arrhythmias, lipid abnormalities acquired and congenital, functional and physiologic problems, risk factors such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome, structural disease and valvular problems, heart failure, acquired disease such as coronary artery disuse, and infectious diseases along with diseases related to blood vessel structure.  Again, anxiety, stress, and stress related disorders can have an effect on major hormones, heart rate and heart health and heart disease.  Nutritional abnormalities can also affect heart performance. 

Read on to learn more about the link between heart disease, panic attacks, and depression.

Lisa Nelson RD #2: For women the signs of a heart attack are more subtle. What should women watch for?  If everyone responded to every arm/jaw/chest/indigestion/feeling "not quite right" symptom, they'd never leave the ER!

Dr. Shelby-Lane: When it comes to women and heart disease, ignorance can be deadly. The misconception that heart disease is a "man's disease" is the main reason women are misdiagnosed, or receive delayed treatment, when experiencing symptoms of heart disease and even a heart attack.

In a recent study at Weill Medical College of Cornell University/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, 230 physicians were given hypothetical cases of men and women with identical symptoms of heart disease. Half of the case studies included reports that the patient recently had a stressful experience or felt anxious. When this detail was included, doctors diagnosed heart disease in 56 percent of men compared with just 18 percent of women.

Read on to learn more about this "gender bias" and the unique symptoms of heart disease in women.

Lisa Nelson RD: Cynthia provided additional information related to heart disease and the signs of a heart attack specific to women.

Dr. Shelby-Lane: Women do need to pay attention to symptoms that may be related to heart disease and hey need to be able to discern how it is different from stress related disorders and GI disorders. 

What are the signs of a heart attack? Most people think it is the Hollywood version where the person grabs their chest and falls over. The truth of the matter is that many heart attacks start with vague and subtle symptoms that may come and go.