Why Men Are More Prone To Heart Disease

Heart complications and diseases are major killers in the world and most of the victims are men. It is a widely accepted fact that men are more prone to heart disease and every year, thousand more men die from heart complications than women. Men also have a greater risk of developing heart diseases and suffer heart attacks at a younger age than women. By the age 45, the risk of heart attack increases while the risk for women increases when they reach 55. At first it was thought that the hormone estrogen is responsible for decreasing the risk of heart diseases in women. For many years, this hormone was believed to give protection and when a woman enters menopause the chances of developing heart diseases increase.

Experts believe that the lower rate for women is actually the norm and for some reason, men's chances for having heart problems are greater. It may be because of the similar lifestyle than most men share. Statistics show that there are more male smokers than female smokers. Tobacco increases the chance of a person to develop coronary heart disease by two to four times, compared to that of none-smokers. Smokers also have a higher date rate caused by coronary heart disease. High blood cholesterol is also a factor. It seems that women are more health conscious than men in monitoring their diet.

Most men's idea of a good meal is a big, fat, juicy stake with mashed potatoes and not green salad. Combined with tobacco smoke, having high blood cholesterol greatly increases the risk of heart diseases. Drinking too much alcohol is another risk factor. Excessive alcohol intake raised high blood pressure, causes heart failure and produces irregular heartbeats. Dr. Choi, a cardiologist and Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said that if women drink, smoke, and are hot tempered as men then their gender advantage over heart disease will shrink.