Heart Disease and Women
Risks and Help

Factors That Increase Women's Heart Disease Risk

Those beyond your control:

• Family history of early heart disease
• Being 55 or older

• Smoking-about 22.6 million women smoke
• High blood pressure-about 25 percent of women have hypertension, the condition's medical name; uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to heart failure, which affects about 2.5 million women
• High blood cholesterol-about 55.5 million women have high total cholesterol
• Overweight/obesity-about 62 percent of women are overweight, including about 33 percent who are obese
• Physical inactivity-more women than men are physically inactive, with more than 25 percent of women engaging in no leisure-time physical activity and more than 60 percent of women do not meet the recommended amount of at least 30 minutes a day of moderately intense physical activity, such as brisk walking
• Diabetes-nearly 6 million women have been diagnosed with diabetes and another 2.8 million are undiagnosed

• About 6.7 million American women have heart disease.
• Heart disease has no quick fix-even if a special procedure, such as an angioplasty, is performed, heart disease will worsen unless treated with lifestyle changes and medication.
• About 35 percent of women who have had a heart attack will have another within 6 years.
• About half of women who have a heart attack will be disabled with heart failure within 6 years. Heart failure is a life-threatening condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to supply the body's needs.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute www.hearttruth.gov
301-592-8573,
TTY: 240-629-3255

Office on Women's Health, DHHS
National Women's Health Information Center
www.4woman.gov
1-800-994-WOMAN,
TDD: 1-888-220-5446

American Heart Association
www.americanheart.org
1-888-MY HEART

WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
www.womenheart.org
202-728-7199