Fryhofer cited studies showing women are more overweight and more sedentary than men. She also said overweight women have twice the risk for heart disease as healthy-weight women. An overweight woman has a body mass index between 25 and 29.9, while an obese woman's BMI is 30 and above.
Obese women run triple the risk.
One in five women has some form of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease. About 42 percent of women who have heart attacks die within one year, compared to about 27 percent of men. In its national campaign, the ACP-ASIM is focusing on heart disease and stroke as common causes of death and disability of adult women. The good news is heart disease can be diagnosed and treated. That's why we internists are warning America's women.