by Betty Russell

Health can be confusing, regardless of gender. But women have an added disadvantage. In the past, medicine was dominated by a male point of view. And early medical research focused on — you guessed it — men.

“For decades, women were considered small men with unusual organs,” says Wendy Klein, M.D., an internal medicine and women’s health specialist at Virginia Commonwealth University and deputy editor of the Journal of Women’s Health. “Now there’s a growing understanding that there are significant gender differences in health care.”

Some differences between men and women are obvious. But others go beyond basic anatomy. Here are some key ways your health may vary from that of the men in your life.

1. We often don’t have “classic” heart attack symptoms.
Heart attacks on TV or the big screen tend to go something like this: The victim clutches his chest and falls to his knees. While these scenes can be dramatic, they can also be misleading.

“Classic heart attack symptoms, like crushing chest pain and pain in the arm, may be classic for men,” says family physician Judy Chamberlain, M.D., a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ board of directors. “But women often have more subtle symptoms, such as shortness of breath, a burning sensation or palpitations. They often feel something new and sense that it isn’t right, but don’t know what it is.”

The nation’s leading killer, heart disease claims more women than men every year. Women are also more likely than men to die in the first year following a heart attack. Yet many women don’t realize heart disease is the main threat to their health. “It scares me that women worry more about breast cancer than their hearts,” Dr. Chamberlain says.

2. Smoking is more addictive and dangerous for women.
Tobacco is deadly to both men and women. Yet smoking can take a worse toll on women. It has a greater effect on our risk for heart disease and stroke. We’re also more prone to lung diseases, including lung cancer. Nonsmoking women face a greater risk for lung cancer than nonsmoking men.

What’s worse, quitting smoking is tougher for women. We have more severe withdrawal symptoms. And while men are addicted to the nicotine, women find it harder to give up both the nicotine and the physical habit.

“Nicotine patches work well for men because they curb their craving for nicotine,” says Sherry Marts, Ph.D., vice president for Scientific Affairs at the Society for Women’s Health Research. “But women need more support to resist their smoking triggers.”

3. We’re more likely to be clinically depressed.
When we’re down in the dumps, we may think we should just snap out of it. Often it’s not that easy.

The incidence of depression is rising in women. In fact, we’re two to three times more likely than men to face the destructive effects of depression. Depression is also a serious health threat at times when we expect to be our happiest — during and after pregnancy.

4. Our health needs change more during our lives.
We face a host of health concerns depending on whether we’re in puberty, our reproductive years, menopause or our senior years. “Our bodies change more significantly during our life span,” Dr. Klein says. “Where we are in our life span should affect the way we look at our health.”

At different stages of our lives, we may grapple with contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, reproductive issues, depression, heart disease, cervical cancer, breast cancer, incontinence and osteoporosis. And since women live longer than men, we’re more likely to live with chronic diseases and meet the challenges of aging alone.

5. We put our own health on the back burner.
Many of us take care of our children, our husbands, our aging parents and sometimes even our pets before we tend to our own health. But experts say ignoring our own needs is dangerous.

“We can’t be stressed out meeting everyone else’s needs and expect to stay healthy,” says Dr. Chamberlain. “Going to the doctor regularly isn’t enough. It’s vital that we put ourselves first sometimes and take care of our health.”

Knowing the role gender plays in health can empower us to live healthier lives. Experts say we need to educate ourselves, be proactive about our health and take our health concerns to our doctors.

“We can add life to our years by eating right, moving our bodies and not smoking or quitting smoking,” says Dr. Marts. “The key to combating chronic diseases is chronic prevention.”

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