If a woman stops smoking, no matter how long or how much she has smoked, her risk of heart disease rapidly declines. Even if a woman has had a heart attack, she will benefit from quitting. A woman's risk of having a second heart attack is cut by 50 percent or more after she stops smoking. The only safe and healthful course is not to smoke at all.
Doctors use a simple blood test to measure the total amount of cholesterol in an individual's blood.
HDL's are believed to carry cholesterol out of the arteries to the liver, where it is passed from the body. That means even if a woman's blood pressure is normal now, she needs to take steps to prevent high blood pressure in the years to come. Although blood pressure can rarely be cured, it can be controlled with proper treatment. Often weight loss, exercise, and decreasing alcohol and sodium consumption will help to lower blood pressure. If a woman's blood pressure remains high, doctors often prescribe medicine in addition to the lifestyle changes described above.