Heart Disease in Women
The number leading cause of death among women in the United States (US) is heart disease; it is also the leading cause of disability among women. Currently, “8 million women in the US are living with heart disease; 35,000 are under the age of 65” (Women’s Heart Foundation, 2011). Among American women in 2005 over 36 million were age 55 or older increasing their risk of coronary heart disease (Garvin, Moser, Riegel, McKinley, Doering, & An, 2003). . Coronary heart disease claims the lives of over 200,000 females yearly. The disease more significantly impacts African-American women than white women. In 2002, their death rate from coronary heart disease was 169.7 compared to 131.2 for white women (American Heart Association, 2011).
Coronary heart disease is most often caused by a condition called arteriosclerosis, which takes place when a fatty material along with a substance called plaque builds up along the walls of the coronary arteries causing them to become narrow and restrictive. As the coronary arteries grow rigid and narrow, the combination can restrict the blood flow to the heart causing it to stop or slow down resulting in chest pain, stable angina, shortness of breath, along with other symptoms, eventually resulting in a heart attack (Blank & Smithline, 2002). However, most individuals with coronary artery disease do not display symptoms of the disease for decades, even as it progresses. The first onsets of symptoms are often sudden resulting in myocardial infarctions, also known as heart attacks. (American Heart Association, 2011; DeVon, & Zerwic, 2003).
Some but not all of the causes of the disorder are the same in men and women. Risk factors that increase the chances of heart disease are: high blood cholesterol levels, high levels of low-density lipoprotein and low levels of high-density lipoproteins, hypertension, diabetes, family history, cigarette smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity (Coronary Artery Disease: Disease/Disorder Overview,
Coronary heart disease is most often caused by a condition called arteriosclerosis, which takes place when a fatty material along with a substance called plaque builds up along the walls of the coronary arteries causing them to become narrow and restrictive. As the coronary arteries grow rigid and narrow, the combination can restrict the blood flow to the heart causing it to stop or slow down resulting in chest pain, stable angina, shortness of breath, along with other symptoms, eventually resulting in a heart attack (Blank & Smithline, 2002). However, most individuals with coronary artery disease do not display symptoms of the disease for decades, even as it progresses. The first onsets of symptoms are often sudden resulting in myocardial infarctions, also known as heart attacks. (American Heart Association, 2011; DeVon, & Zerwic, 2003).
Some but not all of the causes of the disorder are the same in men and women. Risk factors that increase the chances of heart disease are: high blood cholesterol levels, high levels of low-density lipoprotein and low levels of high-density lipoproteins, hypertension, diabetes, family history, cigarette smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity (Coronary Artery Disease: Disease/Disorder Overview,