Heart Quiz for Women Only
As a woman, do you know what your risk is of developing heart disease?
You might be surprised. Take this quiz to see how much you know about heart disease
in women. The quiz is based on information from the American Heart Association.
Gender words are used here to talk about anatomy and health risk. Please use this
information in a way that works best for you and your provider as you talk about your
care.
1. Coronary heart disease develops gradually over many years. It can easily go undetected.
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Coronary heart disease takes years to develop, and, in the case of women, it generally
takes almost a decade longer to show up than it does in men. Estrogen helps protect
women against heart disease. It reduces the risk for heart disease until a woman goes
through menopause. After that point, the risk for heart disease in women is the same
as that for men.
2. Women don't have to worry about cardiovascular disease. It's mainly a problem for
men.
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Many people think that breast cancer is the biggest health concern for women. But
coronary heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. More women die
from stroke than do men.
3. If a woman has a heart attack, they are more likely to survive than a man.
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Women have a lower chance of surviving heart attacks than men do. Studies show that
more women die within a year of having a heart attack than men. At older ages, women
who have had heart attacks are more likely than men to die from them within a few
weeks.
4. Women are less likely to get heart disease after menopause than before.
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Before menopause, many women seem to be protected from heart attack and stroke. This
may be from the hormone estrogen. Estrogen raises HDL (good) cholesterol levels and
lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol. But as women approach menopause, around age 50, things
change. The blood cholesterol of an average woman begins to rise. After menopause,
the risk for heart attack and stroke in women continues to rise with age. Loss of
estrogen is a large contributor to women developing heart disease after menopause.
5. When men reach middle age, or about 55, their blood cholesterol levels start to
rise. But the cholesterol levels of women seem to stay about the same.
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Cholesterol levels become more stable in men around age 55. But in most women, both
LDL and total cholesterol levels start to rise. This is because the levels of estrogen
fall after menopause.
6. African-American women are more likely than white women to have cardiovascular
disease.
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Nearly half of African-American women have cardiovascular disease. Only 7 out of 20
white women have CVD.
8. Women who smoke are 3 times more likely to have a heart attack than women who don't
smoke.
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For women, smoking is the most important preventable risk factor for heart attack
and stroke.
10. Women with heart disease have a lower risk for stroke.
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Coronary heart disease is a major risk factor for stroke.
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