Jan 20, 2016 11:03 AM EST By Rashmi Kalia, UniversityHerald Reporter

A new study suggests that abnormal heart rhythm is a greater health threat to women than men, Philly reports.

The study was published online Jan. 19 in the BMJ.

Atrial fibrillation, that occurs when disorganized electrical signals cause the atria to contract, is a stronger risk factor for stroke, heart disease, heart failure and death in women than it is in men.

For the study, the researchers reviewed evidence from 30 studies involving 4.3 million patients.  

The researchers said that women with atrial fibrillation are twice as likely to suffer a stroke, as compared to men with the same condition. The women with the condition are also more likely to die from a heart condition, 55 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack, 16 percent more likely to develop heart failure and 12 percent more likely to die from any cause, when compared to men.

"This study adds to a growing body of literature showing that women may experience cardiovascular diseases and risk factors differently than men," said review author Connor Emdin, a doctoral student in cardiovascular epidemiology at the University of Oxford's George Institute for Global Health, in England.

Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women's heart health for the Heart and Vascular Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said that women suffer worse outcomes with atrial fibrillation because their symptoms are not as apparent as those in men.

"It's reasonable to consider that it's diagnosed later, or it's not as recognized or that the symptoms are not the same," Steinbaum said.

Dr. Christopher Granger, a cardiologist at Duke University in Durham, N.C., agreed that atrial fibrillation might not be as easy to recognize in women as in men.

According to Bel Marra Health, Emdin concluded, "Recent research has demonstrated that lifestyle modification can reduce the severity of atrial fibrillation. And if they have not already done so, women should consult with their physician about use of anticoagulant therapy."

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