But medical information is always changing, and some information given here may be out of date. For regularly updated information on a variety of health topics, please visit familydoctor.org , the AAFP patient education Web site. An article on this topic is available in this issue of AFP .
American women are four to six times more likely to die of heart disease than of breast cancer.
Here are some ways you can lower your risk of having a heart attack. Smoking Smoking is the major risk factor for heart disease in women. More than half of the heart attacks in women younger than 50 years are related to smoking. If you stop smoking, you can lower your risk of heart attack by one third within two years. If you smoke more than one pack of cigarettes a day, you might try using nicotine skin patches or nicotine gum to help you quit smoking.