|
|
More American women are aware of their risk for heart disease than ever before, but huge gaps in knowledge still remain.
| Do You Like this Article? Then Like Us on Facebook. |
A new survey shows that the number of women who know that heart disease is their leading cause of death has nearly doubled since 1997: from 30% in 1997 to 56% today.
Awareness has roughly doubled since 1997 among all of the racial groups, but remains far lower overall among African-American and Hispanic women.
"These data suggest that future educational efforts should be targeted to racial and ethnic minorities who have lower rates of awareness and higher rates of [death from heart disease] and risk factors," Lori Mosca, MD, of the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, and colleagues write in Circulation.
Other key observations include:
- Younger women (25-34 years of age) had the lowest rate of awareness at 44%.
- 65% of women reported that they would call 911 if they had symptoms, up from 53% in 2009.
- 1 in 5 women surveyed online said their doctor had discussed their risk for heart disease at least once.
- 26% of women also reported having depression, a potential barrier to following a heart-healthy lifestyle.
SOURCE: Medscape Medical News
Shelley Wood
