Heart: The simple way to tell if a woman is going to suffer a heart attack
How can you tell if a woman is soon to suffer a heart attack? Researchers reckon they have found a fool-proof way of discovering the risk – and it’s just by feeling her pulse.
Women with a resting heart rate of 76 beats per minute were nearly twice as likely to suffer a heart attack compared with those who have a pulse of below 62 beats a minute.
In a study of 129,000 post-menopausal women, researchers found that most of the women who had higher heart rates were also more obese, had higher blood pressure and ate more saturated fats. They were also more likely to suffer from diabetes and depression, and were also smokers.
However, doctors point out that it is important to check the heart rate over a period of time as it can vary enormously, depending on activity, emotional state and other factors.
(Source: British Medical Journal, 2009; 338: b219).