As heart attacks and cardiac arrests striking more women than ever, experts say women need to take special care in their 30s and 40s to prevent it. Shefali Jariwala’s death underlined the unpredictable nature of heart-related events. In this interview, Dr Sarita Rao, senior interventional cardiologist and director of Cath Lab at Apollo Hospitals, Indore, with over two decades of experience, highlights that it’s crucial for women, particularly in their 30s and 40s, to pay attention to their heart health. Edited excerpts:
Why are we seeing more cases of sudden cardiac arrest in young, working women?
This is an alarming trend and one we can no longer ignore. Sudden cardiac arrest, which was once considered rare in young women, is now being seen more often, even in those who appear outwardly healthy. There are several reasons behind this rise:
a) Unseen risk factors: Many young women have silent risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol that go undiagnosed because they don’t get regular heart screenings. These risk factors quietly damage the heart over time.
b) Chronic stress and burnout: Today’s working women often juggle demanding careers with family responsibilities, leading to long-term stress, poor sleep, skipped meals, and little time for exercise. This chronic stress increases inflammation and raises the risk of dangerous heart rhythms.
c) Hormonal influences: Conditions like PCOS, thyroid disorders, and early menopause can increase the risk of heart rhythm disturbances, blood clotting issues, or silent coronary diseases all of which can trigger sudden cardiac events.
d) Lifestyle habits: Sedentary routines, irregular sleep, smoking, unhealthy diets, and excessive caffeine or energy drink use, all common in high-pressure work settings, can also contribute to heart rhythm problems and cardiac arrest.
e) Delayed diagnosis in women: Women’s symptoms are often dismissed or misdiagnosed. Fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety, or lightheadedness may be early red flags but they are often attributed to stress, not heart disease. By the time action is taken, it may be too late.
It’s important to remember that sudden cardiac arrest often strikes without warning. That’s why prevention is key. Regular checkups, knowing your heart health numbers, managing stress, and paying attention to unusual symptoms can truly save lives.
We must change the mindset that heart disease and cardiac arrest only happen to older men. Young women are at risk too and awareness, early screening, and lifestyle care are the best defense.
What are the atypical symptoms of heart disease in women?
Heart disease in women often doesn’t look like the “classic” chest pain we see in men. Instead, women tend to experience atypical symptoms such as subtle, less obvious signs that are easy to miss or mistake for something else, like stress, acidity, or exhaustion.
Some common atypical symptoms include
- Unusual fatigue – feeling extremely tired even after minimal effort, or being exhausted without reason
- Shortness of breath – particularly during simple tasks like climbing stairs or walking
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
- Nausea or vomiting – often mistaken for food poisoning or acidity
- Pain in the jaw, neck, back, or shoulders – rather than in the chest
- Cold sweats
- Anxiety or a sense of doom – often dismissed as a panic attack
- Sleep disturbances – trouble falling or staying asleep, or waking up feeling unrefreshed
Many women say, “I just didn’t feel right.” That vague feeling should never be ignored, especially if you have risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, PCOS, early menopause, or a stressful lifestyle. These symptoms are not always dramatic, women tend to wait too long before seeking help. Unfortunately, that delay can be dangerous.
My message to women is this: Trust your instincts. If something feels off, don’t brush it aside. Get checked. Early detection and treatment can prevent serious heart damage and save your life.
How does chronic workplace stress impact women’s heart health?
Chronic workplace stress can take a serious toll on women’s heart health, often in ways that are overlooked. Many women balance demanding jobs with responsibilities at home, which can lead to long-term stress without enough time for rest or self-care.
When stress becomes chronic, the body stays in a constant state of “fight or flight,” raising blood pressure, increasing heart rate, and releasing stress hormones like cortisol. Over time, this can damage blood vessels, promote inflammation, and lead to conditions like hypertension, diabetes, or high cholesterol—major risk factors for heart disease.
What’s more, stress can affect lifestyle choices. Women under stress may sleep poorly, skip exercise, rely on unhealthy foods, or smoke, all of which raise heart disease risk. Unlike men, women also tend to show different and often subtle signs of heart problems, like fatigue, shortness of breath, or anxiety, symptoms that may be mistaken for stress itself.
That’s why it’s vital to recognize stress as more than just an emotional issue. It’s a real risk factor for heart disease. We encourage women to prioritize their health, seek regular checkups, and create healthy coping strategies, whether it’s mindfulness, exercise, counseling, or simply setting boundaries at work.
Do current diagnostic approaches in cardiac care account for sex-specific symptoms and risk factors? Are women getting the preventive screening they actually need?
Unfortunately, women’s heart health is still not getting the attention it truly deserves.
For many years, heart disease was seen as a “man’s problem.” As a result, most of the research, testing methods, and treatments were designed around men. While men may feel sharp chest pain during a heart attack, women might just feel tired, breathless, dizzy, or have pain in the back, jaw, or stomach. These symptoms are often missed or brushed off as stress or acidity even by healthcare providers. That delay in diagnosis can be dangerous.
Many women also suffer from heart problems like MINOCA and INOCA, where blockages don’t show up on regular tests. These are serious conditions but are often underdiagnosed because the tools we commonly use aren’t enough to detect them in women.
When it comes to prevention, women often don’t get the heart screenings they need—especially if they look healthy or have no family history. But risk factors like high blood pressure during pregnancy, early menopause, diabetes, or chronic stress can quietly increase a woman’s risk of heart disease.
We must start taking women’s heart health seriously. Doctors need to listen more carefully to women’s symptoms, use better testing, and screen earlier because early detection saves lives.
If you’re a woman, don’t wait for chest pain. Know your numbers – blood pressure, cholesterol, sugar and speak up about any unusual symptoms. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, but with awareness and action, we can change that.
What role do lifestyle habits, hormonal changes, and conditions like PCOS or early menopause play in increasing cardiovascular risk among women in their 30s and 40s?
Many women in their 30s and 40s are shocked to hear that heart disease can start developing at this age even without obvious symptoms. But the truth is, this is a critical time for heart health, and certain factors unique to women can quietly raise the risk.
Lifestyle habits like poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, too much alcohol, and high-stress especially from juggling work, family, and personal responsibilities can slowly damage the heart and blood vessels. These habits may not show effects immediately, but over time they raise blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, all major risk factors for heart disease.
Hormonal changes also play a key role. Estrogen, a hormone that offers some protection against heart disease, starts to decline in the 40s or even earlier for some women. When estrogen levels drop, the risk of high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and plaque buildup in the arteries increases.
Women with conditions like PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) face even higher risks. PCOS is linked to insulin resistance, obesity, and inflammation, all of which strain the heart. Similarly, women who experience early menopause, before age 45, lose the protective effects of estrogen sooner, putting them at higher cardiovascular risk much earlier in life.
The danger is that many of these changes are silent. You may feel fine, but risks are building beneath the surface. That’s why women in their 30s and 40s should not wait until something goes wrong. Your 30s and 40s are not too young to think about heart disease, they’re the best time to prevent it.
What practical steps can working women take to reduce their risk, especially those who may not have visible symptoms or the family history?
Even if you feel healthy and have no family history, heart disease can still affect you. In fact, many women have no warning signs until it becomes serious. That’s why prevention is so important.
Here are 5 practical steps every woman can take:
- Know your numbers: Get regular checks for blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and BMI, even if you feel fine. These are silent risk factors that need to be caught early.
- Move every day: You don’t need a gym. A 30-minute walk, climbing stairs, or short home workouts can make a big difference.
- Eat smart: Focus on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Cut back on processed, salty, and sugary foods—especially during busy workdays.
- Manage stress: Chronic stress raises your heart risk. Try simple techniques like deep breathing, mindfulness, or even just taking breaks to reset. Don’t hesitate to talk to someone if stress feels overwhelming.
- Sleep well: Aim for 7–8 hours of sleep. Poor sleep is linked to high blood pressure and heart problems.
What should women never ignore?
Even if it doesn’t feel like “classic chest pain,” don’t ignore warning signs like unusual fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety, dizziness, palpitations, or pain in the jaw, neck, back, or arms. Women often brush off these symptoms as “just stress” but they could be early signs of a heart problem.
Also, don’t assume you are safe because you’re “young” or “fit.” Heart disease doesn’t always wait for old age and prevention starts now.
Your career is important but your heart health is non-negotiable. Listen to your body, make time for checkups, and prioritize yourself. Because when women take care of their hearts, they take care of everything else better, too.
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