A woman s risk of heart disease is lower than a man s risk earlier in life before menopause. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women age 55 and older. In fact, heart disease will kill more women than all cancers combined. A lot of confusion arises concerning women and heart disease because women develop heart problems later in life than men do. What is worse is that women are less likely to survive a heart attack than a man is.
Many women also lack the knowledge and awareness of heart attack warning signs.
It really makes sense for everyone to make changes to prevent heart problems before they start. The risk for heart attack in smokers is twice that of nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking is the biggest risk factor for sudden cardiac death. Exposure to second-hand smoke known as passive smoking may also increase the risk of heart disease. There are several new products on the market to assist smokers in stopping.