Women: Take heart!
You’ve all heard the alarming statistics concerning women’s heart health and gender differences in treatment and survival:
- Ninety percent of women in the U.S. have one or more risk factors for heart disease or stroke and are more likely to die from a first heart attack than men.
- To top it off, when women do survive a heart attack or stroke, they have more complications.
As Dr. Holly Anderson, director of education and outreach for the Perelman Heart Institute, pointed out on “The Dr. Oz Show”: “Heart disease remains the No. 1 cause of death for women — more than all cancers combined — and it is on the rise, especially in young women, ages 29 to 45.”
Women need to become aware not only of specific cardiovascular conditions that they face but also what to do when interacting with the doctor who provides their primary care and how to handle it if they land in the emergency department.