THE CURRENT

Have a Heart

For decades, we’ve considered heart attacks a male disease. And this assumption has had deadly results. Women are far more likely than men to die of heart attack; often because they don’t realize they’re having one. Here’s what you need to know about the number one killer.

1 min read November 9, 2014

Women Get Them TooWe usually associate heart attacks with men. And that’s because it’s unusual to hear of a premenopausal woman having a heart attack. Even as we age the numbers remain low for some time. But then we start to catch up. By the age of 75 women are having as many heart attacks as men. Here are the dire numbers:The number one cause of death in women is heart disease.One out of every three women will die of heart disease.More women than men die of heart disease and the gap is growing — 11% of women and 4% of men die within 80 days of a heart attack and 38% of women and 25% of men die within the first year.

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