4 Reasons Women Should Learn About Coronary Artery Disease

      

Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S.? And that women are at greater risk because detection can be tricky?

If your answer was no, here are four big reasons for women to learn about CAD:

1. CAD kills more women than all cancers combined.
2. Women often do not experience the more typical indicators of CAD, like chest pain or shortness of breath that men usually experience.   
3. A woman’s risk of a blockage in her heart arteries increases with her age. 
4. After menopause, women may experience an increased risk of CAD due to decreased estrogen levels. 

It can be very challenging to diagnose CAD in women, especially because most common tests do not take into consideration the key cardiovascular differences between men and women. Certain parts of a woman’s body, like our smaller hearts and breast tissue, can impact the accuracy of common CAD imaging tests.