Women and Heart Attack Risk

A recent study has shown that many Australian women die from heart attack, much more than men. Alarmingly, most women are unaware of this risk.

A recent study among 1763 women conducted by The Heart Foundation has found that many are ignorant when it comes to heart health. 70% of the women surveyed were unaware that heart disease is the leading killer.

Heart Attack - Overview
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.

''There's just this myth around, that has been around for a long time, that heart disease is an old man's disease and it doesn't affect women to same degree. That's just not true,'' said Tony Thirlwell, the foundation's NSW chief executive.

Obesity, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, smoking are the main risk factors of heart disease and many women in this category are falling prey to heart disease.

Mr Thirlwell said , ''The irony is that women are better at going to the GP than men.'But they are often there for other things, not to have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked. 'They are silent killers, as we call them. You can have high blood pressure and high cholesterol and you may not know it until you have the heart attack and end up in hospital.''

High Blood Pressure | Hypertension - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment
High blood pressure or hypertension is a chronic condition, which usually lasts a lifetime once it is developed.

It is important that women must be aware of the warning signs before its too late.

Source-Medindia

What is a heart attack / How to prevent heart attacks
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Simple guidelines to avoid heart attack are listed.