KARACHI: One in four middle-aged adults in Pakistan is living with a cardiovascular disease. Even though men and women are equally susceptible to developing heart diseases — the leading cause of death in the country — the risk of dying or becoming severely unwell from a heart disease is largely underestimated in women due to under-diagnosis and under-treatment.
This was stated by speakers at the 2nd Annual Cardiovascular Conference Pulse 2021 held at the Aga Khan University (AKU).
The speakers noted that contrary to the belief that heart diseases affected only men, women were equally at risk.
In fact, they pointed out, they faced unique sex-specific risk factors related to the early onset of menstruation, menopause and pregnancy-related complications such as preeclampsia.