Heart Disease Fatality Rate

Heart Disease Fatality Rate Higher In Women

As the late, great James Brown sadly sang, "It's a man's world," and especially so in terms of heart disease fatality rates. Studies in the mid 1990's and early 2000's have shown that although women contract heart disease less than men, they are more at risk of dying from it once the heart disease has taken hold. The reasons may be due to combination of factors instead of just one.

How Many Women Does This Kill?

Actually, the heart disease fatality rates for women are pretty grim. It is thought that half a million women die of heart or coronary diseases just in America alone. The American Heart Society backs this heart disease fatality rate up, with the average that one woman dies of a heart attack every six minutes in America alone.

When James Brown made his hit, "It's A Man's World", heart disease fatality rates showed that men died of heart or coronary disease far more than women. And then in 1984, the numbers switched. Now women that shuffle off this mortal coil more than men because of heart disease.

One reasons why so many people die of heart disease (whether man, woman or hermaphrodite) is that many people ignore early warning signs until they actually get a heart attack or stroke. They might not even get any warning signs like chest pains. They just suddenly get a heart attack or stroke.

The Usual Suspects

But why are the heart disease fatality rates for women so grim? What are women doing or not doing that makes this figure so high? One of the reasons is the high cost of health care. Many women will ignore any health problem as long as possible in order to avoid the possibility of going into bankruptcy because of a hospital stay.

The symptoms of heart disease in women have now proven to be different than in men. This can lead to misdiagnosis, which is also thought to be a large contributing factor in why heart disease fatality rates in women are so high. Women just get shortness of breath, anxiety, being tired all of the time and indigestion. Those things don t sound very worrisome, do they? In fact, heart disease can be misdiagnosed as depression.

The best ways to avoid heart disease and many other health problems is through a sensible low-fat diet, regular exercise and regular stress management routines. You also need to not smoke and not drink alcohol to excess.