Prevalence and Morbidity/Mortality

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills more Americans each year than cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents, and diabetes combined.¹ Since the mid-1980s, CVD has claimed more lives among women than among men.^1,2 In 2003, almost 484,000 women died of CVD—that's almost 1 woman every minute.¹

Coronary heart disease (CHD) accounts for the majority of CVD deaths among both men and women (Figure 1).¹

Figure 1. Breakdown of CVD Mortality (United States, 2003)

Here are some important facts about women and CHD:

• The 2003 prevalence of CHD among US women was 5.6% (6 million women).¹
• In 2003, almost 234,000 US women died from CHD alone.¹
• After age 40 years, women have a 32% lifetime risk of developing CHD.³
• Sudden death is often the first symptom of CHD—64% of women who died suddenly from CHD had no previous symptoms.⁴
• In a study of 150 women who had a myocardial infarction (MI), 48% had undiagnosed CHD even though they had 8732 ambulatory visits and 457 hospitalizations over the 10 years before their MIs.⁵
• In 2003, more than 81,000 women died from MI.¹
• More than 20,000 women younger than 65 years die annually from MI, and a third of them are younger than 55.⁶