Heart disease tops the list of medical problems that take women and men to an early death. You can reduce your risk by taking these preventive measures: Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat foods. Maintain a healthy weight. Get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. Keep your cholesterol levels within normal ranges. Control your blood sugar if you have diabetes. Control your blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about a low daily dose of aspirin. Get appropriate treatment for conditions that can damage your heart, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Related Articles

8 threats to women's health

Women's online resources

Calcium may reduce PMS symptoms in some women

Lose weight to protect your knees

For a woman, taking extra precautions with your heart could save your life. Recent research highlights the important differences between the sexes when it comes to the warning signs of a heart attack.

Women can have a heart attack and not know it!

The signals can be different and less distinct that those that men have - so women often ignore the symptoms or mistake them less serious conditions. This can lead to delayed treatment and an increased risk of death.


The "classic" symptoms of a heart attack are tightness in the chest and pain that spreads to the arms or neck. But did you know these symptoms usually apply only to men?

Doctors are learning that a woman's body sometimes sends different distress signals at this critical time.


What are women's symptoms for a heart attack? They're usually less severe than a man's and can include any of the following:

• Shortness of breath
  
  
• Chest discomfort, pain, or pressure
  
  
• Back pain
  
  
• Pain or tingling of jaw, elbow, or arm
  
  
• Tightness in the throat
  
  
• Nausea, vomiting
  
  
• Unexpected fatigue
  
  
• Cold sweats
  
  
• Lightheadedness with exertion, dizziness, or vertigo
  
  

Symptoms like these could mean a number of things besides a heart attack, so some women just wait for them to go away. By then, the situation is much worse, or it's too late for treatment.

Women need to be smart about the symptoms of a heart attack, because:

• Once women finally do seek help, they often don't receive the same medications and procedures that men do, further reducing their chances for survival.
  
  
• Women are more likely than men to die or become disabled from their first heart attack.
  
  
• Women's heart attacks usually occur later in life and are more severe than men's.
  
  
• Heart disease claims the lives of more than a quarter of a million American women each year.
  
  
• Risk factors include some things you can't change (like age, menopause, family history, and race).
  
  
• Risk factors include several areas you do have control over (like smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, high-fat diet, and stress).
  
  

• Be aware of the warning signs.
  
  
• Eliminate or control the risk factors that you can.
  
  
• Seek care if you have any inkling it might be something serious.
  
  
• Ask about the aggressive treatments usually used with men who are having heart attacks.
  
  

• Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat foods.
  
  
• Maintain a healthy weight.
  
  
• Get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
  
  
• Keep your cholesterol levels within normal ranges.
  
  
• Control your blood sugar if you have diabetes.
  
  
• Control your blood pressure.
  
  
• Talk to your doctor about a low daily dose of aspirin.
  
  
• Get appropriate treatment for conditions that can damage your heart, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.