Heart Disease Awareness for Women

You may be surprised by this fact: Coronary heart disease, not cancer, is by far the leading cause of death among women in the United States. More woman die from heart disease than from all forms of cancer combined. Although so many women are at risk, especially women after menopause, few recognize the risk factors and take steps to reduce them. If left untreated, coronary heart disease leads to heart attack and heart failure.

Women can do many things to reduce their risk of developing coronary heart disease:

• stop smoking
• maintain a weight as close to their ideal body weight as possible
• exercise (the American Heart Association recommends 20 minutes of exercise three times a week with warm up and cool down periods)
• seek screening and treatment for high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol

Upon reaching menopause, a woman's risk for heart disease equals, if not surpasses, a man's risk. Cholesterol levels that were kept in check by estrogen production may surge upward. Hormone replacement therapy may reduce the sudden increased risk, but may, at the same time, promote an increased risk for breast and ovarian cancer.