R omantics tell us that two hearts can beat as one, but the truth is that male and female hearts march to the beat of different drummers. However, the differences aren t merely cosmetic. Women vary from men both in their susceptibility to heart disease and in how the disease progresses once it takes hold. By age 65, women who don t take hormone replacement therapy are just as likely as men to have heart attacks. After age 65, women are more likely than men to have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Cigarette smoking causes more heart attacks in women than in men.
Risk of heart attack is six times higher in women who smoke a pack of cigarettes or more a day than in women who never smoke. In men, the risk is 2.8 times higher. Smoking is the number one preventable risk factor in women. Angina is more common among women. Women are more likely to have symptoms of a heart attack.