women and heart disease

Heart disease and stroke do not just affect men. In fact it is the leading cause of death in women globally with 8.6 million lives taken every year: this represents more than cancer, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria combined.


Women can experience coronary heart disease differently from men:the symptoms, progress and outcome of cardiovascular disease may not be the same. Because the specificities of heart disease and stroke in women are not well-known yet, women are more likely to be under diagnosed and undertreated than man.

The good news is, most of heart disease and stroke is preventable. You, your family and your friends can protect your heart and control the major risk factors.

Thanks to the campaign conducted together with our members, the level of awareness on

women and heart disease considerately increased in several countries, leading more and more women to take better care of their heart. In USA for example, only 30% of women recognized heart disease as their leading cause of death in 1997; today, more than 50% know their risk.