ZAGREB, October 2, 2020 (Hina) — On the occasion of World Heart Day, the project called “Women and Heart” was launched in Zagreb on Friday. It promotes preventive check-ups for women and raises awareness of early detection and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Most Frequent Death Cause among Women in Croatia
Cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent cause of death among women in Croatia. Last year alone, 12,673 women died of the disease, which is 3,300 more than men. The “Women and Heart” project is an initiative from the Croatia Heart House Foundation, the Croatian Cardiological Society and the City of Zagreb. The main objective of the project is to stimulate women to go for regular check-ups.
Campaign to Raise Awareness for Heart Diseases
“Every 80 seconds one woman in the world dies of cardiovascular disease. The campaign aims at raising awareness among women in order to detect the symptoms of heart disease. As a result, they can start with effective treatment as early as possible. The target group is women between 35 and 60,” head of the Zagreb City Health Office, Ivana Portolan Pajić, told at a press conference.
Director of the Srčana polyclinic for the prevention and rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases, Goran Krstačić, explained the project further. He announced that they will invite 250 women to the clinic for screening before the end of the year. Women over the age of 50 are first on the list.
The women will be selected with assistance of health clinics and they will be called in for a blood test. Women with higher values will then have to go for further cardiological testing.
Cardiological Risks Higher for 55+ Women
Heart diseases occur most often with women over the age of 55. Fatalities of a heart attack can be twice as frequent for women than for men, said Davor Miličić of the Croatia Heart House Foundation. The risk for women increases when their sexual hormones stop working. After that, the risk gradually increases and becomes equal to that of men.
Although diabetes and smoking are a joint risk factor for both sexes, women with those risks have a greater probability of developing a heart disease than men.
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