Overall, about 9 million American women of all ages suffer from heart disease. Each year, a half million women suffer heart attacks. Cardiovascular diseases and their prevention, therefore, are pressing personal concerns for every woman. A heart attack happens when an artery becomes blocked, preventing oxygen and nutrients from getting to the heart. A stroke results from a lack of blood to the brain, or in some cases, bleeding in the brain.
Risk factors are traits or habits that make a person more likely to develop a disease.
Some risk factors for heart-related problems cannot be changed, but others can be. The three major risk factors for cardiovascular disease that you can control are cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol, overweight, and physical inactivity. Other risk factors, such as diabetes, also are conditions you have some control over. Although growing older is a risk factor that cannot be changed, it is important to realize that other risks can be reduced at any age. This handbook identifies some key risk factors that you can do something about, and suggests changes in living habits to prevent or control cardiovascular diseases.