Women Underestimate Heart Disease Risks

Although Breast Cancer always rules the women's health spotlight in the media, women are much more likely to die of heart disease than breast cancer. What people typically aren't aware of is that twice as many women die from heart disease than die from all cancers combined!

In Ireland, a survey of almost 1000 people were done. The results said that most men and women thought that breast cancer was the #1 killer of women. Wrong! In Ireland, in 2005, 678 women died of breast cancer and 2,225 women died of ischemic heart disease (cardiovascular disease).

“It is essential that the same emphasis is applied to the management of heart disease among women as is applied among men, and that women receive appropriate levels of care, in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease”, said Geraldine Luddy, director of the Women’s Health Council at the launch of the fact-sheet.

So the moral of this article is that although women should be aware of the risks, treatment and most importantly prevention aspects of breast cancer- and probably the same should go for men with regards to prostate cancer- Heart Disease is the big one for both men and women and one should keep that in mind when thinking of prevention methods and taking care of themselves.