The Heart Institute of the Cascades: Women and Heart Disease

Leader and Innovator in Cardiac Research

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Is Heart Disease a man's disease?

No!!  Among all U.S. women who die each year, one in four dies of heart disease. In 2004, nearly 60 percent more women died of cardiovascular disease (both heart disease and stroke) than from all cancers combined. The older a woman gets, the more likely she is to get heart disease. But women of all ages should be concerned about heart disease. All women should take steps to prevent heart disease.

Both men and women have heart attacks, but more women who have heart attacks die from them. Treatments can limit heart damage but they must be given as soon as possible after a heart attack starts. Ideally, treatment should start within one hour of the first symptoms.

For more information about women and heart disease check out:

American Heart Association's Go Red For Women campaign, a heart disease awareness movement.  Click here for information.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease.  First Lady Laura Bush serves as the ambassador for The Heart Truth campaign.  Click here for information.