Women’s Heart Health Guide

This free, downloadable resource, “The Complete Guide to Women’s Heart Health,” will help you understand the symptoms of heart disease and how they differ in women and men. For example men are more likely to experience typical symptoms such as chest pain and tightness, while women’s symptoms may be atypical such as shortness of breath, dizziness and fatigue. 

You’ll also learn about:

• Risk factors - Those that are within your control (diet, exercise and smart choices like avoiding smoking) as well as those that aren’t (age and family history).
• Diagnostic procedures - Tests that help doctors diagnose and prescribe treatments for heart disease, including special screening tests for women who have no symptoms but have risk factors such as family history.
• What you can do - Knowing your numbers – and updating them every year – is a key step to controlling your health.
• Ministrelli Women’s Heart Center – Beaumont opened the first heart center for women in the state of Michigan, and it continues to offer the highest quality cardiac health care to all women.

Facts About Heart Disease in Women

Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death of women in all ages and races combined in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 

• 64 percent of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms (American Heart Association)
• It’s responsible for approximately one in four deaths of women (CDC)
• 49 percent of all Americans have at least one of the three major risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking (CDC)
• 90 percent of all women have one or more risk factors (AHA)
• Fewer women than men survive their first heart attack (AHA)