Heart Facts for Women
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| Get a free copy of our Heart Disease for Women tip card. | |
- Heart disease kills more women than all types of cancer combined.
- Heart disease is not just a disease of older women. It is the leading cause of death for women age 35 and older.
- Women often experience milder symptoms of heart disease. About one third of women who have a heart attack have no chest pain at all.
- Heart disease kills six times as many women as breast cancer
- 38 percent of women — compared with 25 percent of men — will die within one year of a heart attack.
- Heart disease is a particular problem among minority women, with African American and Hispanic women dying at a higher rate than white women.
- Over 40 percent of all female deaths in the United States occur from heart disease.
- Low blood levels of "good" cholesterol (high density lipoprotein or HDL) appear to be a stronger predictor of heart disease death in women than in men in the over 65 age group. Triclycerides (another type of fat) may be a particularly important risk factor in women and the elderly.
- In a survey of 1000 women in 2003, only 13 percent believed that heart disease and stroke were the greatest health threats to women.
- More women than men die each year of heart disease. Yet women receive only:
- 33 percent of angioplasties, stents and bypass surgeries
- 28 percent of implantable defibrillators
- Women comprise only 25 percent of participants in all heart-related research studies.
Preventing heart disease
- Don't smoke — more than half of the heart attacks in women under the age of 50 are related to smoking.
- Control your blood pressure.
- Control your cholesterol level.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Exercise regularly — 70 percent of American women don't get regular exercise.
- Take this women's heart disease risk quiz.
Links & Resources
American Heart Association | Go Red for Women