Heart Topics
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in American women, accounting for almost 500,000 deaths each year. Even though it has been a major cause of death for women since 1908, cardiovascular disease only reached the public's attention in 1991, when it was realized that the number of deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease in women actually surpassed the number of deaths in men since 1984! Since then, a number of educational programs have been started to raise the awareness of the public.
The American Heart Association has labeled heart disease in women as the "silent epidemic". It is an epidemic because if affects one in nine women over the age of 45 years; by age 65 years, heart disease affects one in three women. Yet it is silent, as women and often their physicians are still unaware of how common this disease is. A 1995 Gallup Survey of women between the ages of 45 and 75 years revealed that 4 out of 5 women were not aware that heart disease was their number one cause of death! Most responded that cancer, especially breast cancer, was their most common threat. Another survey revealed that almost three-fourths of women thought that their chance of developing heart disease was less than 1% by 70 years of age, when it is really greater than 35%. These misconceptions prevent women from gaining the knowledge they need to reduce their risk of suffering from their greatest threat.
Women and their doctors need to understand the significance of heart disease, the gender differences in symptoms and risk factors, and what current research tells us.
Last updated on October 17, 2002.