What Women Need to Know About Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women over 65. American women are 4 to 6 times more  likely to die of heart disease than of breast cancer and kills more women over 65 than all cancer combined. Women develop heart disease about 7 to 8 years later in life than men. However, by age 65, the risk is almost the same as a man's. Furthermore, women are less likely to survive heart attacks than men. Nobody really knows why. Maybe it's because women to seek medical attention as easily as men do or maybe because women's hearts are smaller so are their blood vessels.

For both men and women, the factors that contribute to heart disease are smoking, high blood pressure and cholestorol, family history and age. Although you can't really do something about your family history or age, you can make lifestyle changes to avoid other risk factors.Here are a couple of things you can do, to cut down on your risk.

Don't smoke
Smoking is a major factor for heart disease in women. More than 50 percent of the heart attacks in women under 50 are related to smoking. If you stop smoking you can cut down your risk by one third in 2 years. Furthermore, women that smoke and use birth control increase the risk of heart disease even more. There are different products out there that can help you stop smoking. You can try the Nicotine skin patch or nicotine gum, they are available over the counter. There are also prescription medicines available that can help you stop smoking, ask your doctor. Not just smoking, but being a second hand smoker increases your risk. 

Control your blood pressure
Treating and lowering your blood pressure, also reduces your risk of heart attack and stroke. There are different ways to help you control your blood pressure, like excersing regularly, losing weight and a healthy diet. Furthermore, you should control your salt intake. If that doesn't help talk to your doctor and he might have to put you on medication.