Are Cholesterol And Cardiovascular Risks For Men And Women Different?

For years the prevailing wisdom was that women were at minimal risk for high cholesterol and the cardiovascular disease which was sure to follow. Much of the misleading information was based on scientific research studies made up entirely of men.

That was then and this is now, and today we have much more information due to an increased number of women driven cardiovascular studies. The latest statistics have brought us to the realization that women over the age of 65 are just as likely to have a heart attack, and more likely to die from it.

We also know that cholesterol and other blood fats such as triglycerides are the primary forces operating behind the scenes that work to produce arterial blockage and increase the chances of heart attack or stroke.

Learning more about important cholesterol terms

HDL stands for high density lipoproteins and is looked upon as good cholesterol. Then we have the bad boy of cardiovascular disease LDL, which is universally referred to as bad cholesterol.

But the interesting thing is that men and women are not created equal when it comes to these very different types of blood cholesterol.

*For women, low HDL levels spell TROUBLE and put their cardiovascular health at risk.

On the other hand high levels of LDL are more dangerous to a man’s cardiovascular health.

When a woman’s HDL drops below 50 it is a warning sign of impending cardiovascular trouble ahead; with any number below 45 milligrams per deciliter of blood being a very serious health concern requiring medical attention.

For men, when LDL levels rise above 130 the red cautionary flag should be raised, with any number above 150 signaling serious trouble ahead.

How triglycerides affect men and women differently

Triglycerides are early stage blood fats produced when a person consumes more calories than are required. When this occurs the liver transforms those excess calories into triglycerides, which end up as fat in body tissue. A whopping 95 percent of fatty body tissue is made up of triglycerides.

If you have been tested for cholesterol you probably already know that your basic cholesterol profile measures three types of cholesterol and blood fats; HDL, LDL, and triglycerides.

Any reading of over 150 milligrams for each deciliter of blood constitutes high triglycerides. Recent research has shown that typically high triglycerides travel with low HDL levels putting women with high triglyceride readings at greater risk for cardiovascular disease.

The good news is diet modification, along with a healthy dose of daily exercise will help to get both triglycerides and good cholesterol moving in the right direction again.

Maintaining a healthy weight is an equally important factor for both

When a person is overweight good cholesterol (HDL) declines, bad cholesterol increases (LDL), and triglycerides spike. Additionally, the whole cardiovascular system is put under pressure due the increased demand on the heart to pump faster and harder to satisfy the body’s ever expanding needs.

For years is has been accepted wisdom that men require more calories than women, no matter what extenuating circumstances might come into play. Today we know that is not always the case, and depends more on how many calories a person burns rather than their gender and size.

Do women have an advantage as far as age and gender are concerned

The answer is yes, up to a certain point. Men generally enter the arena of death by heart attack at least ten years earlier; age 45 compared to age 55. But by the time the genders reach age 65 their chances of having a heart attack or about the same with women being at greater risk of dying from this unwelcome visitor.

Additionally women are more likely to have several of the common risk factors for cardiovascular disease. These would include high cholesterol, low HDL, high LDL, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high triglycerides. A grouping of several of these risk factor is referred to as the metabolic syndrome, which has been shown to increase a person’s chances of cardiovascular disease from 200 to 400 percent.

By: R.D. Hawkins

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R.D. Hawkins is an enthusiastic consumer advocate for natural health and natural living with over 10 years experience in the field. To learn more about cholesterol along with natural supplements for cardiovascular health Click Here