Statistics & Findings

82% of Area Women at Risk for Heart Disease

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, and women will continue to die from heart attacks and heart disease unless a new approach is taken. As one of the 100 Top Hospitals® in the nation, Silver Cross has introduced the Women’s HeartAdvantage™ Program, as part of a national initiative to change women’s behavior about heart disease.

To develop this model for care, Silver Cross conducted benchmarking research on the attitudes and awareness that women in the southwest suburbs have about women and heart disease.

The research revealed a real “disconnect” about women and heart disease. In fact, many of the women surveyed have risk factors such as high cholesterol and obesity, yet they don’t recognize that these risks can directly lead to heart attacks. In comparison, the first thing a woman thinks of when she feels a lump is cancer.

Key research findings

• 30% of the respondents believe that breast cancer poses the greatest threat to their health. In reality, 43% of women die from cardiovascular disease and only 4% die from breast cancer.
• 82% percent of the participants surveyed qualify as being at risk for heart disease or a heart attack, yet only 35% percent have been diagnosed or perceive themselves to be at risk.
• Physicians and their female patients are not initiating conversations with each other about heart disease. 90% percent of women would prefer to get information about heart disease from their physicians; yet, 34% percent of the women who have obtained information about heart disease said the information did not come from their physician’s office.
• Southwest suburban women know what they are supposed to do to combat heart disease, but they are not doing it. Only 26% percent of women have initiated discussions with their doctor about the risk of heart disease, 31% percent have completed a self-assessment risk profile, 22% percent have participated in a heart screening, and only 8% attended a seminar or educational program on heart disease.

Other Findings

• One in 10 American women between the ages of 45 to 64 has some form of heart disease.
• One in 4 women in the United States over age 65 has some form of heart disease.
• A higher percentage of women than men age 50 and older have total blood cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher, a leading cause of heart disease.
• Women are more likely than men to die of heart attacks within a few weeks after the attack, in part because women have heart attacks later in life than men do.
• Within 1 year after a heart attack, 38% of women will die (compared with 25 percent of men).
• Within 6 years after a heart attack, 35 percent of women will have another one (compared with 18 percent of men), and 46 percent of women will experience heart failure (versus 22 percent of men).

Call 1-888-660-HEAL for a free referral to a Women’s HeartAdvantage™ certified physician.

To schedule an appointment for a cardiovascular risk assessment, call (815) 740-7076 today.