Heart attacks have become more common in middle-aged women

Heart attacks have become more common in middle-aged women over the past two decades but a woman's chances of survival have greatly increased, two studies have shown.

While the incidence of heart attacks has increased, all women - and especially those younger than 55 - have also experienced a greater increase than men in their chances of survival following a heart attack.

The British Heart Foundation said the research highlighted the importance of looking after our hearts "by not smoking, healthy eating and getting regular physical activity".

In an editorial in the scientific journal Archives of Internal Medicine, which published the studies, two doctors at one of the largest university hospitals in Europe said cardiovascular illnesses "have been long neglected in their role as the primary cause of mortality in women".

Drs Sabine Oertelt-Prigione and Vera Regitz-Zagrosek of Charite Universitaetsmedizin, Berlin, said the improvements were "encouraging".

"However, much needs to be done, especially in consideration of the increase in prevalence of risk factors as obesity and type 2 diabetes... in the general population," they wrote.

"As these studies show, increased and continuous vigorous attention to the prevention of cardiovascular risk factors - by healthy diet, regular physical activity and avoidance of smoke and smoking - is necessary for both men and women."

In the first study, Dr Amytis Towfighi, of the University of Southern California, and colleagues said more needed to be done to screen and treat vascular risk factors in women in their mid-life years.

"Although men in their mid-life years continue to have a higher prevalence of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and a higher 10-year risk of hard coronary heart disease than women of similar age, our study suggests that the risk is increasing in women, while decreasing in men," they wrote.

The study of more than 8,000 participants found men aged 35 to 54 had more heart attacks than women in the same age group during 1988 to 1994 and 1999 to 2004. But the gap narrowed in recent years as heart attacks decreased in prevalence among men and increased in prevalence among women.