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The #1 killer of women in America is widely misunderstood. Building awareness is critical to understanding the facts and reducing your controllable risk factors: weight, cholesterol level, blood pressure, smoking, alcohol consumption, and stress.
Myth:
Breast cancer is the most significant health and death threat to women.
Reality:
Female deaths caused by cardiovascular disease are 10 times greater than deaths from breast cancer, and nearly twice the death rate from all cancers combined. In fact, diseases of the heart and blood vessels kill more American women than the next 16 causes of death combined.
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Myth:
Heart attack symptoms for men and women are the same.
Reality:
No. Typical signs of heart attack for both men and women are repetitive pressure or squeezing in the chest; shooting pain to the shoulder, arms, and neck; sweating; and shortness of breath. Additional signs in women include stomach pain and nausea; unexplained fatigue; racing heart rate; back pain; and jaw pain. Lack of understanding about these symptoms causes many women to delay seeing their doctor, and many medical professionals to misdiagnose them.
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Myth:
Men have a greater risk of dying of a heart attack than women.
Reality:
After menopause, women are more likely to have heart attacks than men and, according to the American Medical Association, have a 70% higher rate of death than men following a heart attack. Most women don't seek help until two to six hours after the first symptoms begin, cutting into valuable time during which they could be saved or heart damage prevented.
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Myth:
Women have a good understanding of the heart-health issues that affect them.
Reality:
Studies show that only 8% of American women believe that heart disease, heart attack, or stroke are the greatest health problems facing women today. Only 31% mention them as the leading cause of death in women.
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