Every February the American Heart Association’s women’s initiative, Go Red For Women, takes a multifaceted approach to increase women’s’ heart health awareness. A few quick facts:
- The No. 1 killer of women is cardiovascular disease. While 1 in 31 American women dies from breast cancer each year, 1 in 3 dies of heart disease;
- Women having a heart attack wait longer before seeking help than men do, which is one reason women tend to do worse after a heart attack than men;
- The symptoms of heart disease can be different in women vs. men and are often misunderstood;
- Nearly 80 percent of cardiac events can be prevented, but most women don’t know their personal health numbers that determine their risk.
Take time this weekend to watch the 1 minute Mayo Clinic video, The Surprising Signs of Heart Attack in Women. Explore the articles below on why women die from heart attacks more frequently than men; the role of the ER doctor’s gender in heart attack survival, and more!
- Mayo Clinic: Heart disease in women: Understand symptoms and risk factors
- Time: Women Die From Heart Attacks More Often Than Men. Here’s Why — and What Doctors Are Doing About It
- Reuters: Women more likely to survive heart attack if ER physician is female, and original research: Patient–physician gender concordance and increased mortality among female heart attack patients
- WebMD: Mysterious SCAD Heart Attack Strikes Younger Women
- Scientific American: Another Example of How Health Care Disparities Kill, and original research: Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease and Cognitive Impairment: Another Health Disparity for Women?
- Fact Sheets: Heart Disease and Women and Know Your Numbers
