Most of us, and most importantly, the medical community have caught on that men and women experience heart attacks differently.

And since women experience heart attack differently than men, it may follow that their cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks are different as well. In some ways they are…

According to one study, depression and high levels of LDL (or bad) cholesterol were more significant risk factors for men, while the link between a poor diet and CVD was closer in women. Smoking was also a bigger risk for women.

Women’s heart health is also impacted later in life and they have more risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart failure.

But if researchers get caught up in the difference, they may miss lifesaving similarities…

Like a CVD biomarker already identified in men that could one day fight atherosclerosis via vaccine…

Low anti-PC levels signal high CVD risk

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden followed 932 women from the Swedish Mammography Cohort with an average age of 66 over 16 years. During that period, 113 women developed CVD.

They identified low levels of antibodies to the fatty substance phosphorylcholine, called anti-PC, as a new independent risk marker for CVD in older women. Previous studies have shown this is the case in men.

Results showed that women with a high level of anti-PC had a 25 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack.

“We can show that a low level of the natural antibody to phosphorylcholine can be used as a risk marker for cardiovascular disease also in women, independent of previously known risk factors,” says study author Johan Frostegård, a professor at the Karolinska Institutet.

“We have previously shown that the antibody has an anti-inflammatory effect, which means that it protects against atherosclerosis, which is a chronic inflammation of the vessel wall,” Frostegård adds.

The researchers hope this finding can contribute to the development of a vaccine that can raise anti-PC levels in those who show a risky shortage benefitting men and women.

But first, they’ll have to determine what level of anti-PC is protective.  “We are now working on an even larger study that includes both men and women where we hope to establish such a level,” Frostegård says.

What to do until a vaccine is available

While right now there is no known way for women (or men) to raise their levels of anti-PC, its link with inflammation is further indication that managing chronic inflammation must be an essential component of warding off CVD.

The best place to start by ditching the standard American diet. It’s a risk factor intrinsically linked to CVD — because it’s filled with foods that increase pro-inflammatory biomarkers including:

• Refined sugars
• Refined grains
• Fried foods
• Sodas
• Processed, red and organ meats

The exact opposite of that is the Mediterranean diet — which always tops the list of best diets for heart health. If you haven’t guessed, that’s because it’s also an anti-inflammatory diet.

In fact, according to research, the Mediterranean diet is comparable to other interventions such as aspirin, statins, physical activity, and even antihypertensives such as ace-inhibitors or beta-blockers in terms of reducing the risk of CVD severity, mortality, and events like heart attack or stroke.

The same study listed specific nutrients and foods in the diet responsible for its anti-inflammatory heart-healthy effects including:

Editor’s Note: You’re invited to join a tiny handful of Americans who enjoy rare, fresh-pressed olive oil all year long. Take my word for it, there’s a difference in taste, quality and benefit! Click here to learn more…

Sources:

New cardiovascular disease risk marker discovered in older women — EurekAlert!

Antibodies Against Phosphorylcholine in Prediction of Cardiovascular Disease Among Women: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study — JACC: Advances

Heart Attack Symptoms in Women — American Heart Association