Risk increases after menopause
Heart attacks are rare in young women because of the protective effects of the female hormone estrogen. After menopause, when
estrogen levels drop, a woman’s risk of heart disease skyrockets until it equals a man’s.
Researchers have discovered, however, that estrogen replacement therapy or hormone replacement therapy after menopause may
help women live longer by cutting their risk of heart disease in half.
Reducing your risks for heart disease
With heart disease, there are only four risk factors you cannot change – age, family history, gender and race. If you have
unchangeable risk factors, it’s especially important to control other dangerous factors. They include:
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- diabetes
- smoking, including second-hand tobacco smoke
- obesity
- a high stress level
- physical inactivity
- use of birth control pills
Keep this list of risk factors with you when you visit your doctor for an annual checkup and blood work. By discussing your
medical history and personal risk factors, you and your doctor can develop a plan to help prevent or even reverse heart disease
through regular exercise and good nutrition.
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Reviewed for clinical accuracy by Marjorie Stanek, MD.
