Women: Take your heart health seriously

Some women still think heart disease is mostly a man’s disease. If you feel that way, Swarnalatha R. Bheemreddy, MD, a cardiologist at Saint Francis Hospital, wants you to know: No other disease—not even breast cancer—kills more women each year.

“Actually, a woman’s lifetime risk of dying from heart disease is eight times greater than that of breast cancer,” Dr. Bheemreddy says.

That’s not to discount the impact of breast cancer but rather to emphasize the serious risk heart disease (which includes heart attacks) poses to women.

Am I at risk?

Traditional heart disease risk factors are the same for both women and men:

• Having diabetes
• Having unhealthy blood cholesterol levels
• Having high blood pressure
• Smoking
• Being overweight
• Not exercising

In addition, your heart disease risk rises as you age or if a close relative had heart disease before age 50.

And then there is menopause. Before menopause, the hormone estrogen helps protect women’s hearts. After menopause, estrogen levels fall, and a woman’s risk for heart disease rises rapidly.

“Before menopause, women are less likely—not unlikely but less likely—than men to be diagnosed with heart disease,” Dr. Bheemreddy says. “But after menopause, the risk is similar to that of men.”

Other, less-traditional heart disease risk factors for women include having lupus, a history of preterm birth, or high blood pressure or diabetes that develops during pregnancy, Dr. Bheemreddy says.

How can I help prevent heart disease?

Start by getting annual checkups to learn whether you have risk factors—like high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes— and, if so, how to control them, Dr. Bheemreddy says.

You can also make lifestyle changes, as needed, like quitting smoking, eating foods lower in artery-clogging saturated and trans fats, being active (short walks can help!), and doing your best to manage stress, Dr. Bheemreddy suggests.