On the average, each of these doubles your chance of developing heart disease. Therefore, a person who has all three risk factors is eight times more likely to develop heart disease than someone who has none. Overweight increases the likelihood of developing high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure, and physical inactivity increases the risk of heart attack. Heart disease is often thought of as a man's disease, but that is a mistake. One in ten American women 45 to 64 years of age has some form of heart disease, and this increases to one in five women over 65.
Heart disease is the number one killer of American women.
The good news is that many of the risk factors for coronary heart disease are controllable. If you smoke, you are two to six times more likely to suffer a heart attack than a nonsmoking woman, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke each day. Smoking also boosts the risk of stroke. There is simply no safe way to smoke. The only safe and healthful course is not to smoke at all.