Heart Disease in Women Vs. Men

Although typically thought to affect men on a greater scale, more women than men die each year from heart disease. Men typically suffer the disease more often, but fatal effects can be more significant for women.

Identification

• Heart disease encompasses a variety of heart disorders, including coronary artery disease, the most common form. It remains the No. 1 cause of death for both men and women across the globe.

Significance

• Strokes are more devastating to women. "Each year about 55,000 more women than men have strokes, and about 60 percent of total stroke deaths occur in women," The American Heart Association says.

Time Frame

• Men experience a higher rate of heart attack and suffer those earlier in life, while nearly half (42 percent) of women who have attacks will die within the first year, compared to 24 percent of men. Women younger than 50 are twice as likely to suffer a fatal heart attack and twice as likely to die within weeks.

Disability

• Of both sexes who survive heart attacks, the likelihood of being disabled with further heart disease within a period of six years is less for men (22 percent) compared to women (46 percent).

Surgery Risk

• The effect of heart disease in women vs. men is well illustrated in the challenge brought by surgery. "Women are two to three times as likely to die following heart bypass surgery," The Women's Heart Foundation says. However, women's hearts tend to respond better than men's to healthy lifestyle changes.