Orange with Media Services, published on Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 08:00
Tobacco, physical inactivity, stress, contraception… The lifestyle of women under 35 makes them vulnerable to risk.
While these pathologies are increasing in this population, it remains the least informed. The French Federation of Cardiology (FFC) alert.
“Cardiovascular problems are on the rise in young women”, worries cardiologist Catherine Monpère, in Indre-et-Loire. “The risk factors of smoking and sedentary lifestyle cause women to lose the protection they naturally enjoy until menopause thanks to estrogen,” she explained Thursday, April 13, during a press conference by the FFC. The specialist regrets “a degradation of knowledge among the youngest”.
Uninformed about tobacco
Asked about cardiovascular risk factors (stroke, myocardial infarction, hypertension, etc.), barely 16% of people under 35 mention tobacco, in an Ifop survey of January 2023 for the FFC, among 1,002 women over the age of 18. Smoking is however one of the main risk factors, especially for women: “At equal consumption of cigarettes, the cardiovascular risks are 25% higher for them”, recalls Doctor Monpère. And their daily tobacco consumption does not decrease: in December 2022, Public Health France reported an increase in 2021 (to 23% compared to 20.7% in 2019).
Another neglected factor: a sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity, which make the bed of obesity. Overweight, Virginie Gruzon was the victim four years ago of a myocardial infarction at only 42 years old. “I am a nurse and yet I could not believe it,” recalls this mother. A disbelief first shared by the medical team at Soissons hospital, where she arrived with chest pains and severe shortness of breath. “I was very well taken care of, but it’s true that I did not match the profile that we expect to have when we talk about a heart attack”, she describes.
“It is not acceptable to die because of contraindicated contraception”
While women can try to limit these risk factors, there are others over which they have little control. They are thus particularly vulnerable at key times in their hormonal life, starting with contraception. However, some women are misinformed “and use contraception with estrogen when they have a contraindication (tobacco, overweight, diabetes, migraines)” which weakens them, explains to theAFP cardiologist Claire Mounier-Vehier, co-founder of the association Agir pour le cœur des femmes. “It is not acceptable to die because of contraindicated contraception”, she denounces.
pregnancy and postpartum should also be closely monitored. “Only 25% of women are aware of an increased risk during pregnancy”, recalls the study by the French Federation of Cardiology. Other pathologies, such as polycystic ovary syndrome or endometriosis are risk factors. “Because of ovarian over-stimulation, women who have had recourse to medically assisted procreation (PMA) are also more vulnerable”, specifies Stéphane Manzo-Silberman, cardiologist at Pitié-Salpêtrière.
“I looked for the information on my own”
It is still necessary that health professionals carry out prevention with those who do not necessarily fit into the box of people at risk. Anne-Hélène Pasco, 44, had three pregnancies with pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure), and almost no particular follow-up after childbirth. “I took treatment only after my first pregnancy to regulate my blood pressure, but no one ever explained to me the long-term implications of this disease”, explains this Rennaise. “I researched the information on my own and discovered that there was an increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular problems,” she adds.
With 200 deaths per day and 76,000 per year, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among women. However, “in 8 out of 10 cases, the onset of the disease can be avoided thanks to prevention”, recalls Acting for the hearts of women, who crisscrosses France to inform and prevent these risks in women.