Heart Attack Risk is Rising in Middle-Aged Women
Adults, seniors, men, women - patients from just about every walk of life can and do develop chronic heart disease, a condition in which it is increasingly difficult for the heart to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. In fact, cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of U.S. women, and there's a growing recognition that heart attack risk increases after menopause. Some say that we aought to pay more attention to heart attack risk for younger women as well.
According to the WSJ Health Blog, in recent decades, heart-attack risk rose for women aged 35 to 54, even as it fell for men in the same age group (Archives of Internal Medicine). Prevalence is still much higher for men in that age group than in women, but this change, many say, is cause for concern. Read more here.
So what is the answer - what can be done to prevent the onset of heart disease? Is legislation to tax fattening foods the solution? Or do we take our health into our own hands and live healthy lifestyles? Weigh in now!