Cardiovascular Diseases - Women

Cardiovascular Diseases - Women in United States

United States

Cardiovascular disease refers to several heart conditions, including heart disease, heart attack and stroke, often resulting from plaque build-up in artery walls. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States, responsible for killing 1 in 5 women. A significant proportion of pregnancy-related deaths are associated with cardiovascular conditions. Multiple studies have found that women with a history of certain pregnancy complications are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Risk factors for cardiovascular disease include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, diabetes, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, high levels of stress and a family history of heart disease or stroke. 

In 2017-2018, the total costs of cardiovascular disease among women, including health care costs and lost productivity, exceeded $138 billion.

According to America’s Health Rankings data, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease is higher among:

• Women ages 35-44 compared with younger women ages 18-34. 
• Women with less than a college education compared with women with a college degree.
• Women with an annual household income less than $25,000, who have a prevalence more than 3 times that of women with an income of $75,000 or more.
• American Indian/Alaska Native women compared with Asian women, who have the lowest prevalence. Black women also have a high prevalence. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for Black and white women, and the second-leading cause of death for women of all other races and ethnicities.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and managing risk factors can help prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases. Between 1980 and 2000, the death rate from coronary heart disease decreased significantly; 47% of this decrease was due to medical interventions like coronary artery bypass and statin therapy. Another 44% of the decline was attributable to increases in physical activity, reductions in smoking prevalence and lowering of cholesterol and blood pressure. The World Health Organization estimates that 80% of heart attacks and strokes may be prevented by addressing risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and physical inactivity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed the Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program to reduce the risk of heart disease among low-income and underserved women by providing screening and other necessary services. Individuals can measure their own heart health online using Life’s Essential 8, a tool published by the American Heart Association.

Healthy People 2030 provides several objectives related to improving cardiac health, including:

• Improving cardiovascular health among adults.
• Reducing coronary heart disease deaths.
• Reducing stroke deaths.

Additionally, the Million Hearts 2027 initiative is a national effort to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes in the next five years by promoting community and clinical prevention programs.

Ford, Earl S., Umed A. Ajani, Janet B. Croft, Julia A. Critchley, Darwin R. Labarthe, Thomas E. Kottke, Wayne H. Giles, and Simon Capewell. 2007. “Explaining the Decrease in U.S. Deaths from Coronary Disease, 1980–2000.” New England Journal of Medicine 356 (23): 2388–98. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa053935.

Grandi, Sonia M., Kristian B. Filion, Sarah Yoon, Henok T. Ayele, Carla M. Doyle, Jennifer A. Hutcheon, Graeme N. Smith, et al. 2019. “Cardiovascular Disease-Related Morbidity and Mortality in Women With a History of Pregnancy Complications.” Circulation 139 (8): 1069–79. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.036748.

Tsao, Connie W., Aaron W. Aday, Zaid I. Almarzooq, Alvaro Alonso, Andrea Z. Beaton, Marcio S. Bittencourt, Amelia K. Boehme, et al. 2022. “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2022 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association.” Circulation 145 (8). https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052.