What's Different About Heart Disease in Women?

Even though more men than women develop CHD, just as many women as men die from it. In fact, statistics show that some groups of women are in greater danger than men of sudden or short-term death from CHD:

• 64% of women who die suddenly from a heart attack had no previous symptoms of CHD, compared with 50% of men.
• 38% of women will die within 1 year after a heart attack, compared with 25% of men.

A number of differences exist regarding CHD in women compared with men:

• CHD in women tends to show up 10 years later in life than in men.
• Loss of estrogen during and after menopause may contribute to a higher risk of CHD.
• Women are more likely than men to have smaller coronary vessels, which may affect certain types of heart tests.
• Diabetes increases CHD risk more in women than in men.