Physical exams should always include screening for heart disease and cancers, Herman said. Women also should do monthly breast self-exams. Health experts say they're unsure why young women in particular are so fearful of breast cancer, except that most of them seem to know a young woman affected by the disease. They didn't want to know population risk. But unless there's a known genetic cause or a high prevalence in a woman's family, she'll likely have to rely on population data to assess her risk.
Age also is a risk factor in cardiovascular diseases.
Measured in total deaths, cardiovascular disease has claimed more women's lives than men's every year since 1984, and the gap is widening. But as women approach menopause, they may start to lose the protective effect of estrogen. Their risk of heart disease and stroke begins to rise and continues to rise with age. All rights reserved.