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 “Heart disease is by far the number one killer of women in America. Every year, it takes the lives of half a million women…many had no prior symptoms and many others had symptoms that were unrecognized or undiagnosed.”
- Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, Rossi Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine/Cardiology, Weill Medical College, Cornell University
Interview with Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld
CBS Cares decided to take on the issue of women's heart disease when CBS News Medical Correspondent, Dr. Mallika Marshall, brought the matter to our attention. From that communication and from our additional research and discussions with cardiologists, we learned that many women and their doctors do not realize that, after menopause, women are as much at risk of having heart attacks as men. We also learned that heart disease kills more women than all the cancers combined, including breast cancer.
Our motivation to embrace this cause was further strengthened when we learned that women often experience different heart attack symptoms than men. Because this is not widely known, the symptoms are frequently ignored by the patient or misdiagnosed by her doctor. Our research also revealed another little known fact: that certain diagnostic tests may not be as accurate in diagnosing women's heart disease as they are for men.
As a result of the above factors, women's heart attacks are more frequently fatal than those of men.
We invite you to read the CBS Cares interview below on women's heart disease with distinguished cardiologist, Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, so you can learn facts that could save your life or that of someone you love. We have also provided other information that we hope will be helpful.
Before you read the interview, here are some staggering facts from Harvard Medical School's Consumer Health Information Website and the American Heart Association, which convey the risks and dangers of Women's Heart Disease:
• One woman dies from heart attack or stroke every single minute in the U.S.
• About 6.6 million American women have heart disease.
• Heart disease is the number one killer of women over the age of 25 killing nearly 500,000 women every year.
• At menopause, a woman's heart disease risk starts to rise significantly. One in four women over 65 has heart disease.
• In a survey by the American Heart Association, 63 percent of women name breast cancer as their greatest health risk (nine times as many who named heart disease as their greatest risk).
• Heart disease claims twice as many women's lives as all forms of cancer combined, including breast cancer. Whereas about one in 30 women die of breast cancer...more than one in two die from heart attack or stroke. (More than ten times the number of breast cancer deaths).
• Every year since 1984, more women than men have died of heart disease.
• For years, heart disease has been considered a man's disease, but postmenopausal women are just as likely to develop heart disease as men and when they do have a heart attack or stroke, it's more likely to be fatal in women.
• Sixty percent of women who die suddenly from coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms.
• Women are less likely to notice they have a heart problem.
• Many symptoms of heart disease in women may mimic other conditions, such as acid reflux or depression.
• Women with heart disease often have symptoms different from men...instead of chest pain or pressure, they may report shortness of breath, fatigue, indigestion and anxiety.
• Making a diagnosis of heart disease in women is often more challenging than it is in men. The tests that are used to determine whether patients are likely to have heart disease, such as exercise stress tests, are often less reliable in women.
Interview with Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld
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