One woman dies every minute from cardiovascular disease (CVD) — more than the combined deaths from all cancers, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and accidents. 42 million women are currently living with heart disease in the United States.
“Heart disease is killing more than 432,000 women a year – more than any other disease and more than all cancers combined. We hope to move the nation towards more effective diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in women, and support for the more than 42 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease,” said Lisa M. Tate, Chief Executive Officer of WomenHeart.
Today is National Wear Red Day, in which women are encouraged to wear red to bring awareness to the prevalence of heart disease among women. Did you know that many women who suffer a heart attack do not have chest pains? Rather, they experience back pain. Women account for only 20 to 25 percent of patients enrolled in most cardiovascular disease clinical trials, leading to less understanding of how the disease affects women, and how it should be successfully diagnosed and treated. Events like Wear Red Day help us to turn a spotlight on women's health care, and the need to look at gender-related factors in diagnosis & treatment.
High blood pressure
High blood cholesterol
Diabetes
Smoking
Being overweight
Physical inactivity
Family history of early heart disease
Age (for women, 55 and older)
Key statistics on heart disease:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death of American women.
More women than men die of heart disease each year.
35.3% of deaths in American women over the age of 20 are caused by cardiovascular disease each year.
More than 200,000 women die each year from heart attacks- nearly five times as many as from breast cancer.
Women are less likely than men to receive appropriate treatment after a heart attack.
Women comprise only 27% of participants in all heart-related research studies.
Women with diabetes are 2.5 times more likely to have heart attacks.
48% of adult women have total cholesterol of at least 200mg/dL.
50% of Caucasian women, 64% of African-American women, 60% of Hispanic women, and 53% of Asian/Pacific Islander women are sedentary and get no leisure time physical activity.
African-American women, despite their higher risk of heart disease, were 10% less likely to receive aspirin and 27% less likely to receive cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Some medications to treat hypertension in African-American patients work better and some work worse compared to Caucasian patients.
Among African-American women over the age of 20, 44.8% have high blood pressure.
Compared with Caucasian women, Hispanic women are nearly three times as likely to be uninsured.
Prevalence for diabetes in Mexican-American women is two times higher than Caucasian women.
Wednesday, February 17, at 3 p.m. EST. – Listen to Black Women’s Health Report with Eleanor Hinton Hoytt’s show on “Straight from the Heart: What Black Women Need to Know about Heart Disease.” Listen to the show, submit your questions, or call-in to the show beginning at 3:15 p.m. EST at 646-381-4662.
Join the Ready in Red photo contest! Print the poster, take pictures of how you decorated your community, and submit the photos online.
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