Syndrome X in Women

(LifeWire) - Syndrome X isn't strictly a women's disease, but nearly three-quarters of those diagnosed with this lesser-known heart condition, which is a form of angina, are menopausal women with a variety of other cardiac risk factors.

About 9.1 million Americans suffer from angina -- chest pain or discomfort caused by compromised blood flow in the heart region. But syndrome x, also known as microvascular angina, is caused not by narrowed arteries, as is typical angina, but from dysfunction of the small blood vessels around the heart.

Symptoms 

About 20 to 30% of patients who undergo cardiac catheterization for chest pain are found to have relatively normal coronary arteries: It is the normality that distinguishes syndrome X from the "typical" angina that is caused by partial blockages in the coronary arteries. Symptoms of typical angina and syndrome X are similar -- a crushing or burning sensation in the chest and pain or numbness in the arms, shoulders or jaw.

Scientists aren't sure why syndrome X occurs more often in women. Theories focus on women's estrogen levels, potential thyroid difficulties and even gender differences in how the linings of blood vessels can malfunction.

Statistics

The differences in syndrome X between the genders lie in both its intensity and its apparent triggers. A 2008 study reported in the American Heart Journal found that women with "angiographically normal" arteries are more than four times as likely as men to be readmitted to the hospital for chest pain within 6 months of having first been tested. The odds of suffering a cardiac event for these patients are low but not negligible; 1% of syndrome X patients die within a year of first hospitalization for the condition and 0.6% suffer a stroke.

Women with syndrome X typically are past childbearing age and often have typical heart disease risk factors such as smoking, obesity and insulin resistance (which often is a signal that diabetes is on the way). The lower levels of estrogen that come after you have passed through menopause may make this form of angina more likely.

Researchers are also homing in how endothelial cells, which line the blood vessels, may differ in men and women. These cells affect how and when blood vessels get narrower or wider.

C-reactive Protein 

A chemical called C-reactive protein, which signals inflammation and can help predict cardiac events, is higher in syndrome X patients than in others. Inflammation also plays a role in blood vessel dysfunction. About half of women with syndrome X show evidence of dysfunctional blood vessels.

Read more about Syndrome X and its treatment here.

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