Bollywood veteran Sridevi’s untimely death has sent shock waves across the country. It has made every woman in the country worry about their own heart health. The fact that a healthy woman with no known history of heart problems dropped dead suddenly has understandably created confusion and paranoia among the people.

Until now, it was widely believed that heart diseases affected more men than women. And it has inspired scores of “women don’t have a heart” jokes among the men. But studies paint an entirely different picture.

If reports are to be believed, since 1984, heart diseases have killed more women than men, which means women are also equally susceptible to cardiac problems. Here’s looking at some of the most shocking facts about women and heart diseases.

1. Heart diseases kill more women than cancer does

There’s no arguing that breast cancer is a serious health problem among women. But did you know that heart diseases end up claiming more female lives than cancer? According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 54 percent women are aware of this fact.

2. Women end up suffering more

Studies say that although women develop heart problems ten years later than men, they fare much worse after suffering from a heart attack.

3. Heart diseases go unnoticed in women

The reason why heart diseases do more harm to the women is because there in most cases, there is a failure to identify these diseases. Approximately, 35 percent of heart attacks in women go unnoticed or unreported in them.

4. Heart diseases are related to diabetes and hypertension in women

Are you a woman with diabetes and high BP? It’s about time you got your heart checked. Having diabetes signal towards higher chances of developing heart diseases or stroke. Studies say that most women who experience heart trouble have underlying diseases like diabetes and hypertension.

5. Women are less likely to die of heart diseases

What’s reassuring is that while women end up faring worse than men after an attack, women are less vulnerable to sudden death than men.

6. Symptoms of heart diseases are different in women

Many women experience symptoms of heart attack differently from men because some women don’t go through the classic symptoms of a heart attack like pressure and tightness. Women experience symptoms like breathlessness, perspiration, fluttering sensation in the heart and fullness in the chest.

7. Depressed women are more at risk

Women with a history of depression are known to have an increased risk of heart diseases says a study. The risk was three times more than that in men. The speculation is that depressed women were more likely to have unhealthy addictions like smoking and drinking and less likely to take treatment. In fact, taking antidepressants are also tied to heart problems such as sudden cardiac death.

8. Late pregnancy can worsen heart disease risk

More and more women have been putting off pregnancy these days. But a study says that delaying pregnancy may be bad for your heart health. Giving birth after age 40 is said to be one of the contributors of heart diseases like strokes, heart attacks, brain bleeds, etc.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 26, 2018 05:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).