Women and Heart Disease 

Heart disease is the #1 killer of women in the U.S. and Louisiana.  The facts are disturbing:

• More women then men die each year of heart disease
• African-American women are more at risk of dying of heart disease or stroke than Caucasian women.
• Women are less likely to receive aggressive treatment for heart disease than men
• Women are less likely to survive heart surgery
• Women frequently have different symptoms of a heart attack than men.  They usually exhibit "atypical" symptoms at the time of a heart attack, such as:
• Back, neck, or jaw pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Indigestion
• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Lightheadedness

Risk Factors

Many of the risk factors for heart disease are the same for women as they are for men, such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, poor nutrition and physical inactivity.  There are, however, other risk factors that are unique to women:

Birth Control Pills increase the risk of heart problems in women who smoke, have high blood pressure or have diabetes.  The hormones in birth control pills can also raise your blood pressure.

Hormones - Estrogen that is naturally produced by the body has been shown to be protective of the heart.  That is why women who have gone through menopause (when the body stops producing estrogen) are more likely to have heart disease than premenopausal women.  Also, women tend to develop heart disease at older ages then men, probably because of the protective effects of the estrogen.  Hormone therapy, however, does NOT reduce the risk of heart disease.  In fact, women on hormone therapy have an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and blood clots.

Fact Sheets

Heart Facts

Stroke

High Blood Pressure

Cholesterol

Risk Factors

Signs and Symptoms

Related Websites

Heart Healthy Women

National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

Black Women's Health Imperative

National Women's Health Resource Center