Heart Disease in Women: Awareness On the Rise - East Idaho News

Heart Disease in Women: Awareness On the Rise

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Getty 120511 HeartMonitor?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1361315427873Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Awareness that cardiovascular disease kills more American women than any other cause is on the rise.

Over the last 15 years knowledge of that fact increased from 30 percent to 56 percent of women, according to a survey released Tuesday by the American Heart Association.

ABC News senior medical contributor Dr. Jennifer Ashton said that while knowledge is on the rise, challenges do remain.

“White women did have greater awareness about heart disease than African-American or Hispanic women,” Ashton said of the survey.

Increased awareness can be credited, in part, to campaigns such as Go Red for Women, Ashton said.

“People have an increased awareness about their own lives and their own health and what poses a significant risk to them,” Ashton said. “And when it comes to women, the number-one risk to a woman’s life is heart disease.  So the more aware of that we are, the better.”

For more on this survey from the American Heart Association, click HERE.

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