WOMEN’S HEART HEALTH
Introduction to Women’s Heart Health
Heart Disease Is the Leading Killer of American Women1
Heart disease is:
Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in American women.1
In the United States, more women than men die every year of cardiovascular disease.1
Coronary heart disease rates in women after menopause are 2-3 times those of women the same age before menopause.2
23% of women age 40 and older who have heart attacks die within a year, compared to 18% of men.1
64% of women who die suddenly from coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms.1
At age 40, the lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease is more than 1 in 2 women.1
Some diagnostic tests and procedures, including the exercise stress test, or stress ECG, might be less accurate in women.3
Information in this section is designed to help you (or someone you know) ask the right questions, seek appropriate medical care and have an informative dialogue with your healthcare provider.
- American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2010 Update. Available at www.americanheart.org.
- The Heart Truth, www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/press/nhlbi_04_age_fact.htm, accessed 01/05/2010.
- Noel Bairey Merz, MD: Gender Differences in Atherosclerosis and Coronary Heart Disease: A perspective from the WISE Study; ACC; March 6, 2004.
