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RISK FACTORS FOR
HEART DISEASE AND STROKE
A woman’s risk
factors for heart disease and stroke can be divided into two categories:
Non-Modifiable
Risk Factors include:
- Age--- A woman’s risk for heart disease and
stroke
increases as she gets older. After menopause, a woman is two to three
times more likely to develop heart disease.
- Family History-- If you have family
members especially female
relatives with heart disease or who have had a stroke, you are at
increased risk for heart disease/stroke.
- Race or Ethnicity--- African-American women
have a higher incidence of heart disease and stroke.
Hispanic women have a higher incidence of diabetes which is a very
strong risk factor for heart disease in women.
Modifiable
Risk Factors include:
- Smoking--- Women who smoke are four times
more likely to suffer a heart attack or die from heart disease than
nonsmokers. Smoking just one to four cigarettes a day doubles a woman’s
risk of having a heart attack or dying from heart disease. Within two
years of quitting smoking, a woman’s risk of heart disease is reduced by
fifty percent.
- Diabetes--- Diabetes increases a
woman’s risk of developing heart disease three to seven fold as compared
with two to three fold in men.
- Metabolic Syndrome--- The Metabolic
Syndrome is a group of risk factors that increases a woman’s risk for
developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
- High Blood Pressure--- High blood pressure
increases a woman’s risk for both
heart attack and stroke. More than 50 percent of women over age 55 have
high blood pressure.
- High Cholesterol Levels--- Low levels of
HDL or "good cholesterol" or high levels of LDL or “bad cholesterol” or triglycerides increase a woman’s risk for heart disease and
stroke.
- Overweight and Obesity--- Women with excess body
fat are more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
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