Mega Doctor News
By Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
Newswise — How does heart disease affect women?
Despite increases in awareness over the past decades, only about half (56%) of women recognize that heart disease is their number 1 killer.
Hormonal changes that occur during menopause can bring increased cardiovascular risk in the form of higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Some facts about women and heart disease:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, killing 314,186 women in 2020—or about 1 in every 5 female deaths.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for African American and white women in the United States. For Hispanic women, heart disease is second only to cancer as a cause of death.
- About 1 in 16 women age 20 and older (6.2%) have coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease:
- About 1 in 16 white women (6.1%), black women (6.5%), and Hispanic women (6%)
- About 1 in 30 Asian women (3.2%)
