Myth vs fact: The differences between men’s and women’s hearts

How much of what you know about male and female hearts is true? Are there really any physical differences between them, and how can you separate fact from fiction about how to look after your heart health if you’re a man or a woman?

The Plant Made team are passionate about sharing information to help people lead healthy lives (most of which comes from the research we do to create tasty products with big health benefits), and so when we found out that there are some major misconceptions out there about the differences between male and female heart health that lead to thousands of women dying unnecessarily in the UK each year, we were sure it was a topic that our customers would want to know more about.

This month’s blog is therefore all about myth-busting: we’ll be uncovering the truth about the differences between male and female hearts, and why these differences are important in our efforts to look after our health. 

 

Myth 1: Male and female hearts are exactly the same

Fact: Male and female hearts are physically different in several ways – men’s hearts are 15-30% bigger than women’s, men’s hearts typically have a larger surface area of muscle than women’s, and the heart muscle of a man has a courser texture.

As a result of women’s hearts being slightly smaller and less muscular than men’s, they typically have a higher heart rate (in order to pump the same amount of blood). The average heart rate for an adult male is 70 to 72 beats per minute, while the average for an adult woman is 78 to 82 beats per minute.

The cause of the physical differences between male and female hearts is believed to be down to sex hormones – children’s hearts are virtually the same between the sexes until puberty, when testosterone levels rise massively in boys and their hearts grow disproportionately to girls of the same age and size. 

 
 

Myth 2: Heart attacks are a male problem

Fact: 35,000 women are admitted to hospital following a heart attack each year in the UK – that’s an average of 98 women per day. Although this number is much less than the figure for men (68,000 each year), it is still a very significant number. 

The number of women who sadly die from a heart attack in the UK each year is 28,000, an average of 77 per day. They are more likely to survive a first heart attack than men, but less likely to survive a repeat heart attack.

 

Myth 3: Women have different symptoms to men when having a heart attack

Fact: It’s a common myth that women and men experience different symptoms when suffering a heart attack – the key symptoms are actually the same between the sexes (chest pain, and pain in the left arm), but women can experience some other symptoms too, such as shortness of breath, sickness, or pain in the jaw or back.

Misconceptions about female heart attack symptoms are reported by the British Heart Foundation to have resulted in 8,200 women dying unnecessarily from heart attacks over the past 10 years.

This is partly due to women not seeking medical help soon enough (because they didn’t realise they were having a heart attack), but mainly due to misdiagnosis and less intensive medical care. Research has shown that women are 50% more likely to have a heart attack wrongly diagnosed and are also less likely to be given an ECG prior to reaching hospital.

 

Myth 4: Heart disease isn’t a major concern for women

Fact: Coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer every year in the UK, and according to the British Heart Foundation there are currently more than 800,000 women in the UK living with heart disease. It is the single biggest killer of women worldwide.

It is true that fewer women than men suffer from heart disease, which is believed to be due to the protective benefits of the female sex hormone oestrogen. The male sex hormone testosterone is thought to be detrimental to heart health, and people with high levels of testosterone (for example those who undergo testosterone therapy, or athletes who abuse it) are reported to be at increased risk of heart problems (a study of 15,400 British men given testosterone therapy found a 21% increase in the risk of heart attacks and strokes).

 
 
 

Myth 5: Men and women need to do different things to look after their heart health

Fact: There is some truth in this statement, because certain medical conditions that only women suffer from (gynaecological conditions, pregnancy-related complications, and the menopause) have been shown to contribute to the risk of heart disease. Men are more likely than women to develop diabetes, which significantly raises the risk of a heart attack or stroke because high blood sugar can damage the blood vessels and nerves that control your heart.

However, the majority of things we can do to protect our hearts apply to both men and women:

  • Reduce your stress levels – the stress hormone cortisol raises your blood pressure which increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke; ongoing high blood pressure can damage artery walls because of the increased force of blood through your arteries


  • Get more exercise – the heart is a muscle which gets stronger the more it is used; a strong heart muscle can more easily pump blood around your body which means it is under less strain. Regular exercise also contributes to maintaining a healthy bodyweight, which massively reduces the risk obesity-related conditions such as diabetes (which itself increases the risk of a heart attack)


  • Eat a healthy, balanced diet – as well as helping you maintain a healthy weight like regular exercise does, a diet rich in certain nutrients such as fibre, magnesium, and vitamin C can help protect your heart. We could write a whole blog about the benefits of a healthy diet for your heart, but a few interesting points are that fibre helps reduce blood cholesterol levels as well as helping keep you at a healthy weight, magnesium (from green leafy veg) helps keep blood pressure normal, and vitamin C helps strengthen blood vessel walls.

 

How Plant Made can help both men and women keep their hearts healthy?

At PLANT MADE we create products with the right balance of essential fats, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fibre to keep hearts healthy. In every box of PLANT MADE goes a healthy balance of 30 different fresh plants needed support natural wellness and heart health.

 
 

  • 1 of your 5 a day - Studies have shown that eating more plants is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Each pack of PLANT MADE contributes to 1 of your 5-a-day and is naturally rich in micronutrients, plant compounds, antioxidants, fibre, and protein, beneficial to heart health.

  • High in fibre - A higher intake of fibre is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and helps to lower cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. Every pack of PLANT MADE naturally high in fibre.

  • No Junk - Our heart-healthy blends are 100% plant-based and have no trans-fats, no preservatives, no added sugar, no refined carbohydrates and no excessive salt.

 

Perfectly balanced for healthy hearts

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Alex Swann