However, knowing the risk factors of IHD for women will empower women themselves to be better informed and thus can help them in decision making concerning their health condition.
The objective of this study is to explore the commonly studied risk factors of ischemic heart disease (IHD) among a group of Malaysian women.
The increasing IHD trend among women may due to the involvement of women in the labour force [9, 10] that leads to occupational hazards [11] such as long working hours, job strain and work-life imbalance.
Metabolic syndrome, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease also shows an increasing trend among women [12].
First article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Semua manusia dilahirkan bebas dan samarata dari segi kemuliaan dan hak-hak.
Mereka mempunyai pemikiran dan perasaan hati dan hendaklah bertindak di antara satu sama lain dengan semangat persaudaraan.
Middle aged women were recruited with women diagnosed with diabetes (a OR = 1.92, 95% CI: 1.11–3.31), having low HDL-C (a OR = 3.30, 95% CI: 1.28–8.27), those with positive family history of IHD (a OR = 1.92, 95% CI:1.13–3.26) and passive smokers (a OR = 2.99, 95% CI:1.81–4.94) were at higher odds of IHD.
The findings are useful for public health interventions and policy making focusing on specific women population.
The exclusion criteria were difficult communications due to other medical conditions such as stroke and cases referred from hospitals outside the state to ensure cases and controls were from the same population.
Inclusion criteria for controls were those who had no IHD symptoms (for example chest pain or discomfort, fatigue or fainting spells) or were never diagnosed as having IHD by any medical practitioner.
Sample size was calculated via Power and Sample Size 2 program (PS2) and the number of cases needed were between 130 to 150.
At the end of the study the number of cases obtained was 142 with the same number for controls.
Urbanization and advanced technology make it easier for women to adopt an unhealthy lifestyle [13].