|
Basic InformationMore InformationBarriers to Womens Health CareCancer and WomenChronic Disabling Conditions, Diabetes, Obesity and WomenChronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis and WomenDepression and WomenHeart Disease, Stroke, COPD and WomenHormones After MenopauseInfertility, Environmental Health and WomenMenopauseMinority, Adolescent, Older, and Incarerated WomenOsteoporosis: The Bone ThiefReproductive Health and WomenSmoking and WomenStress and Women's HealthSubstance Abuse, HIV/AIDS and WomenUrinary IncontinenceUrinary Incontinence, Alzheimer's Disease, Osteoporosis and WomenViolence, Mental Illness and WomenWomen and Physical ActivityWomen's Health Issues Fact SheetWomen, Obesity and Weight Loss Latest NewsATS: Injured Women Receive Less Trauma Care Than MenCollege Women More Prone to Problem Drinking Than Men: StudyIs Menopause Overlooked in U.S. Medical Schools?Young Women Less Healthy Than Men Before Heart Attack: StudyCombo Drug Therapy May Work Best to Strengthen Bones: StudyHealth Tip: Manage Menopause'Eating More Protein' Strategy Helps Women Lose WeightJust How Might Exercise Lower Breast Cancer Risk?Can High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Boost Fertility Treatment?Potentially Toxic Metals Present in Lip CosmeticsLow-Dose 'Pill' Linked to Pain During Orgasm, Study FindsExercise May Lower Older Women's Risk for Kidney StonesNearly One-Third Don't Pick Up New Osteoporosis RxWhite House to Challenge Ruling on Unlimited Access to 'Morning-After' PillLipsticks, Glosses Contain Toxic Metals: ReportFDA Approves 'Morning-After' Pill Without a PrescriptionImplants May Delay Breast Cancer Detection, Raise Death RiskKeep Beauty Regimen Safe During Pregnancy, Doctor AdvisesPediatrician Group Issues Home Birth Policy StatementEven Light Smoking Increases Risk of RA Among WomenMammo Rates Unchanged Despite Controversial GuidelinesFamily Doc Counseling Fails to Lift QoL for Abused WomenEndometriosis Surgery Linked to Lower Ovarian Cancer RiskLaparoscopic Hysterectomy Rates on Rise Over Past DecadeMenopause-Like Woes Hinder Breast Cancer Treatment: StudyAACR: Exercise Tied to Reduced Estrogens Post-MenopauseNew Clues to How Exercise May Reduce Breast Cancer RiskDoctors Too Pap-Happy, Survey SuggestsFor Older Women, Missed Mammograms Tied to Worse Breast Cancer OutcomesExperimental Vaccine Shows Promise for Ovarian CancerFederal Judge Rules FDA Must Lift Restrictions on Plan BJudge: Make Morning-After Pill Available to All FemalesStudy Pinpoints Women at Risk for Blood Clots From PregnancyBreast Cancer Gene Tests Won't Help Most Women: ReportPhysical Activity Improves Sleep for Menopausal WomenMore Evidence Shows Hormone Therapy May Increase Breast Cancer RiskArtificial Ovaries Could Potentially Deliver Hormone TherapyNew Method May Help Pinpoint Woman's Final Menstrual PeriodHormone Pills in Menopause May Carry Gallstone Side EffectsFalse-Positive Mammograms Can Trigger Long-Term DistressData Insufficient to Link Declines in Breast Cancer, HRT UseMammograms Every Other Year OK for Women Over 50: StudyAbout 14 Percent of Moms Face Postpartum DepressionHigh-Fat Dairy Linked to All-Cause, Breast Cancer MortalityRobotic Surgery for Hysterectomy Often Not Best Option, Ob/Gyn Group SaysNight Shift Linked to Raised Risk of Ovarian CancerDNA Test Shows Promise in Guiding Advanced Breast Cancer CareObese New Mothers May Have Higher Heart Attack, Stroke RiskNew Pap Guidelines May Miss Aggressive Cancer in Young Women: StudyNonheme Iron Intake Linked to Reduced Risk of PMS Questions and AnswersLinksBook Reviews |
| |
Heart Disease, Stroke, COPD and WomenOffice on Women's HealthHeart disease is the number one killer of American women. Although it is typically viewed as a man's disease, more women actually die of heart disease each year than do men. On average, women develop heart disease later in life than do men. In addition, women are more likely to have other co-existing, chronic conditions that may mask their symptoms of heart disease than are men.
Symptoms of a heart attack in women may also differ from those in men, which can lead to a misdiagnosis of the disease in women. Women who recover from a heart attack are more likely to have a stroke or to have another heart attack than are men. In fact, 42 percent of women die within a year following a heart attack compared to 24 percent of men.
Chronic Obstructive PulminaryDisease (COPD) includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and asthmatic bronchitis, all of which obstruct airflow from the lungs. In 1997, COPD was the fourth leading cause of death among women, claiming the lives of 53,045. The mortality rate from this disease was 17.7 deaths per 100,000 persons in 1997. While death rates from COPD are much higher in men than in women, the rates for women have nearly doubled since 1979. The most rapid increases have occurred in women ages 75 and older.
A Stroke is usually caused by a clot that stops the flow of blood to an area of the brain. Stroke can cause paralysis, loss of speech, and poor memory. Stroke is the third leading cause of death for American women, and it kills more than twice as many women each year as breast cancer. It is the most common cause of adult disability in this country.
Women account for 43 percent (or 240,000) of the 550,000 strokes that occur each year and 61 percent of stroke deaths (97,227 of 159,791 annual deaths). Stroke occurs at a higher rate among African American and Hispanic women than among white women.
Taken together, stroke and heart disease kill nearly twice as many American women as do all types of cancer combined. More than one woman in five in this country has some form of major heart or blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease. However, in a 1997 national survey, only 8 percent of American women recognized heart disease and stroke as the leading cause of women’s deaths.
|