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Heart disease is just
a man's disease. One in 9 women between the ages
of 45 and 64 has some form of cardiovascular disease,
ranging from coronary artery disease to stroke
or renal vascular disease. By the time a woman
reaches 65, she has a 1 in 3 chance of developing
cardiovascular disease. Men are much more likely
to be stricken with heart disease in their prime
middle years, whereas women tend to get it 10
to 20 years later. For most women, it is only
after menopause that heart disease becomes a problem.
But a woman of 60 is about as likely to get heart
disease as a man of 50, and by time they are in
their 70s, men and women get heart disease at
equal rates.
Now a days greater attention is been paid to women's
health. An increasing number of scientific studies
are focusing on how heart disease affects women.
Gradually, doctors are becoming better informed
about the dangers to women from heart disease,
so that they are less likely to attribute chest
pain to anxiety or other non-heart-related problems.
And women themselves are learning that their own
attention to their health must not be limited
to an annual visit to the gynecologist.
Heart disease is both preventable and treatable;
and as doctors learn more about what causes the
problem, it is becoming increasingly apparent
that there is much that you can do to prevent
it from ever occurring. Diet and lifestyle changes
can be very effective preventive efforts for some
forms of heart disease. To work best, these efforts
should begin early in life, long before you perceive
yourself to be at risk. And if heart disease does
strike, modern science and technology have an
ever growing weapons available to successfully
fight it and restore its victims to healthy and
productive lives.
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