Women make more than 59 percent of physician visits, purchase 59 percent of prescription drugs, and account for two-thirds of all hospital procedures. More than 75 percent of nursing home residents over age 75 are women. Women live seven years longer than men on average, and many illnesses that affect women occur later in life.
Heart disease is the chief cause of death among American women of all ages.
While it can strike at any age, the heart disease rate rises significantly after menopause. Hypertension, a major risk factor in cardiovascular disease, is two to three times more common in women than men and highest among black women. Heart disease in women often goes undetected and untreated until the disease has become severe. Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of American women. While only five percent of all women worldwide live in the United States, half of all women worldwide who die from smoking-related diseases live in this country.