While it is true that more men have heart attacks than women, women are less likely to survive a heart attack. Part of the problem is that women do not realize they are at risk. According to a 1995 Gallup poll, four out of five women did not realize that heart disease, not cancer, is the leading cause of death among women. Neither did one out of three primary care physicians. Loss of estrogen, the hormone prevalent during a woman's childbearing years, may contribute to higher levels of cholesterol in postmenopausal women, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Research is ongoing to determine how estrogen affects blood cholesterol.
There has been much touted about breast cancer and osteoporosis lately, and though these maladies are cause for concern, they may cause women to overlook the even greater risk of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, in 1995, nearly 505,500 women died of cardiovascular diseases, compared to the 43,800 who died of breast cancer and the less than 257,000 who died of all forms of cancer. Because the number of women dying from cardiovascular disease is so high, Seeley advises women take control of their health and become a partner with their physicians. The responsibility lies with the patient to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack and to go immediately to the hospital. But that could be a challenge.