WHITE PAPER
Take it to Heart
How women can improve cardiovascular health and reduce
their risk of heart disease – regardless of their age
Heart disease and stroke cause one in three deaths among women each year
In the United States, an estimated 44 million women are affected by cardiovascular disease and 90 percent of these women have at least one or more risk factors. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity, among others.
Women must know their numbers to improve their health
The first step to any population health improvement program is to thoroughly understand the population and its risk factors. Without understanding a woman’s baseline, it is impossible to monitor or mitigate the most prevalent cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Setting the standards for women’s heart health
Mitigating heart disease begins with investing in preventive efforts -like screening- that focus on health, not illness. That means addressing and controlling risk factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure or cholesterol and physical inactivity.