Heart Disease in Women

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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• Patient Handouts

Summary

In the United States, 1 in 4 women dies from heart disease. The most common cause of heart disease in both men and women is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself. This is called coronary artery disease, and it happens slowly over time. It's the major reason people have heart attacks.

Heart diseases that affect women more than men include

• Coronary microvascular disease (MVD) - a problem that affects the heart's tiny arteries
• Broken heart syndrome - extreme emotional stress leading to severe but often short-term heart muscle failure

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 can take steps to prevent it by practicing healthy lifestyle habits.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Heart Disease (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
• Heart Health for Women (Food and Drug Administration)
• The Heart Truth (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Symptoms

• Heart Attack Symptoms in Women (American Heart Association)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Heart Health Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Heart Disease and Stroke (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
• Heart Disease in Women: Understand Symptoms and Risk Factors (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Heart Disease Risk Factors (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Calcium Supplements: A Risk Factor for Heart Attack? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Heart Healthy Eating (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
• Heart-Healthy Recipe of the Week (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• CHD's Impact on Females (American Heart Association)
• Heart Conditions and Pregnancy: Know the Risks (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Heart Disease in Hispanic Women (American Heart Association)
• Hormone Replacement Therapy and Your Heart (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Menopause and Heart Disease (American Heart Association)
• Q and A: Birth Control for Women with Congenital Heart Disease (Adult Congenital Heart Association)

Specifics

• Heart Attack and Women (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Data and Statistics: Women and Heart Disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Heart Disease in Women (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline: A systematic review and...
• Article: Non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome in women and the elderly: recent...
• Article: Disparities in death rates in women with peripartum cardiomyopathy between advanced...
• Heart Disease in Women -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Heart and Stroke Encyclopedia (American Heart Association)
• How the Heart Works (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Find an Expert

• American Heart Association
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Patient Handouts

• Heart disease and women (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish