Heart disease and women (PDF, 129 KB)
Heart disease
Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. Some of the symptoms and risk factors for heart disease and heart attack are different for women than men. Your risk may also be different from other women. But every woman can take steps to prevent heart disease by knowing her risk factors and making healthy changes.
Top questions about women and heart disease
- What are symptoms of a heart attack in women?
- Why are heart attacks harder on women than men?
- Am I having a heart attack?
- How does my birth control affect my risk for heart disease?
- What are some risk factors for heart disease that I can control?
- How does heart disease affect pregnancy?
- How can I help prevent a heart attack?
- How does stress affect my risk for heart disease?
- Why am I more at risk for heart disease after menopause?
- Does menopausal hormone therapy raise my risk for heart disease?
Heart disease resources
Related information
Blog topics
The Office on Women's Health is grateful for the additional reviews by:
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute staff
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Harlan Krumholz, M.D., Cardiologist, Director, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale University and Yale-New Haven Hospital
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Rachel Dreyer, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate in Medicine (Cardiology), Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale University
All material contained on these pages are free of copyright restrictions and may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citation of the source is appreciated.
Page last updated: May 10, 2017.
Content last reviewed: November 30, 2015.
