Cardiovascular disease kills six times more women than breast cancer, yet awareness is still lacking, according to heart surgeon Alex Manchè.
Speaking at the first in a series of seminars entitled Don’t Miss a Beat, Mr Manchè said there were a number of reasons why women, more than men, continued to fall victim to this disease.
Quoting the MONICA project, a 10-year study of some 1,000 people in 21 countries across four continents, Mr Manchè pointed to smoking, high blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity as the main risk factors for coronary artery disease.
“Smoking is the single most important reversible cause of cardiovascular disease,” Mr Manchè said, adding that smoking combined with birth control pills increased the risk of heart disease twentyfold.
Social smokers were also at an increased risk, he said, as studies had found that smoking one to five cigarettes per day increased the chances of a heart attack by 38 per cent.
Eating right was also central, he pointed out, as increased cholesterol, especially LDL, found mainly in fats of animal origin, like beef, eggs, cheese and cream, was found to increase chances of heart disease.
HDL, which is known to be the “good cholesterol”, scours the walls of narrowing blood vessels and removes excess bad cholesterol, Mr Manchè said.
Stopping smoking, aerobic exercise and weight loss were known to increase the amount of HDL in the blood, he said. This also increased by eating more fish, less carbohydrates and sticking to a Mediterranean diet.
Controlling hypertension, or high blood pressure, was also important to decrease heart disease, he said.
“Obesity in both men and women has reached epidemic proportions,” the surgeon said, referring to research which shows Maltese men were the fattest in Europe and women the third fattest.
Women were increasingly moving from “the apple shape” to “the pear shape”, which was negative because central obesity was intrinsically linked to something known as the metabolic syndrome. This is a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
“Women with a 35-inch waist please take note,” Mr Manchè warned.
As the surgeon stepped off the podium yesterday, he was quickly summoned to the audience to assist a woman who had fainted.
Participants gathered round to lend a helping hand. However, Mr Manchè, with the help of another man, swiftly carried her to the back of the room, where she quickly recovered.
Yesterday’s free seminar, organised by Flora pro.activ, was mainly aimed at women and was held at the Excelsior Hotel, Floriana.
A second seminar will be held on Monday at the Dolmen Hotel, Buġibba between 6 and 8.30 p.m. and a third on March 28 at the Inspire Foundation, Marsascala, from 11 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.
The final session will be held on April 10 at the ME.AM Chic Women’s Expo at the Malta Fairs and Conferences Centre in Ta’ Qali between 10 and 11 a.m.