Heart Health for Women

Did you know that cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death for American women? Cancer gets a lot of press, but many more women die from heart disease each year than from all forms of cancer combined. We tend to think of heart disease as a man’s problem, but it’s actually more dangerous in women than in men. The good news is that as Americans have learned to control blood pressure and make healthy changes in their eating, smoking and exercise habits, deaths from heart attack and stroke have dropped dramatically.

What are Cardiovascular Diseases?

Cardiovascular disease is a general term for diseases of the heart (cardio) and blood vessels (vascular). One type of cardiovascular disease occurs when the blood vessels (the coronary arteries) that bring blood to the heart muscle become partially or completely blocked. This is called coronary heart disease. Because blood brings oxygen and nutrients to the heart, when the coronary arteries become partially or completely blocked, the heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen and nutrients. When the blood flow is critically reduced, a heart attack (also called myocardial infarction) occurs. This usually causes damage to the heart muscle.

Who Gets It?

Some women are at a higher risk for developing coronary heart disease than others. Risk factors are related to such things as age, hormone levels, lifestyle and diet, other illnesses and family history. Some risk factors can be modified or even eliminated. The major risk factors that you can control are cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, being overweight, physical inactivity and stress. Studies show that controlling these risk factors may help to reduce your risk of heart disease. There are other risk factors that cannot be changed, such as having a family history of heart disease or getting older. But risk factors don’t tell the whole story. Even if you have no risk factors for coronary heart disease, you can still get it.