Each year, more than one million women experience a heart attack, and nearly half of them are fatal. Stroke is the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death for women and men.
Heart attack and stroke in women
Many people continue to believe that heart attacks represent a problem targeting solely older men, yet heart disease is a killer to women also. The difference is that among men, the risk for heart attack increase steadily after 45years of age. In women, the risk increases after 50years of age. However, younger women and men can also have heart attacks, and the current epidemic of obesity and inactivity among our nation's youth will likely shift the risk towards occurrence at younger ages over the next one or two decades

Each year, nearly 700,000 Americans experience either thier first or second stroke, and more than 20% of them are fatal. More women than men have strokes, and they are more likely to die as a result. The problem is particularly serious in black Americans.

Who is at risk?

Being familiar with factors that increase the risk for either heart attack or stroke is the first step towards prevention. Everyone under the following categories

Risk factors for stroke

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• Age (55 n above)
• Family history of stroke
• Smoking
• Birth control pills
• Atrial fibrillation
• Heart failure
• Excess alcohol
• Prior stroke or heart attack
• Gender ( women are at greater risk than men)

Risk factor for heart Attack

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• High cholesterol
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Physical inactivity
• Gender( men are at greater risk than women)
• Age (45 above)

End of part 1

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