While any one risk factor will raise your chances of developing heart-related problems, the more risk factors you have, the more concerned you should be about prevention. If you smoke cigarettes and have high blood pressure, for example, your chance of developing coronary heart disease goes up dramatically. As Americans have learned to control blood pressure and make healthful changes in their eating, smoking, and exercise habits, death rates for heart attack and stroke have dropped dramatically. Between 1970 and 1988, the death rate for women from coronary heart disease was cut in half. During the same period, the death rate for stroke went down 55 percent.
Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death for American women.
Most recent statistics available from the American Heart Association. All rights reserved. As such, it may not be used without our permission.