The Women’s Heart Health Organization (WH20) has called for more education and awareness on heart problems of women. The motto of WH20 on International Women’s Day is ‘Healthy heart, happy woman’.

The organization has advised women of Malaysia and all over the world to take proper care of their heart health. Most of the people think that breast cancer is the biggest cause of deaths in women but the experts reveal that heart attack or stroke claim almost two and a half times more deaths than all kinds of cancers. Diabetic women need to take extra care as the risk of heart disease or stroke is four times higher for them as compared to their non-diabetic counterparts.

Dr. Robaayah Zambahari, Senior Consultant Cardiologist at National Heart Institute says that the symptoms of heart problems are different in women as compared to men. The common symptoms of heart problems shown by women involve breathlessness and fatigue. Some of the other risk factors of heart problems in woman are hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes.

On behalf of the International Women’s Day, WH20, under the National Heart Association of Malaysia, has been raising awareness of heart problems among women with the help of a series of programmes.