All women should consider themselves at risk for heart disease because heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One in every four women’s deaths are caused by heart disease.
While some risk factors, such as family history, cannot be changed, there are risk factors women can choose to control. According to the CDC, risk factors of heart disease that women can choose to improve include:
- Alcohol use in excess
- Cholesterol
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High LDL
- Obesity and overweight
- Physical inactivity
- Poor diet
- Smoking