Women’s Heart Health Resources

More than 7 in 10 women do not know that they have heart disease until they have a heart attack. Use this online resource to calculate your risk for cardiovascular disease or ask your primary care provider to calculate your risk.

There are several lifestyle modifications you can make to lower your risk for heart and vascular disease! Check out the infographic below and discuss your risk factors with your primary care physician.

Spring Clean Your Eating Habits

Does Eating Breakfast Really Make a Difference?

The Read Meat Debate: Is It OK to Eat or Not?

Healthy Eating: My Way to Five-a-Day!

Tips for Preparing Healthy Bag Lunches for Your Entire Family

Take our Color Your Plate Challenge and enjoy at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day!

Did you know that nearly one in every two American women have high or borderline high cholesterol? In fact, many people may not realize that having high cholesterol levels is more common in women than in men. No matter your gender, it’s important to make sure you control your cholesterol to help reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Read more

Pregnancy: Women face unique risk factors in pregnancy that increase their risk of cardiovasular disease both in the short and long term. Conditions such as pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes confer a two- to seven-fold risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Learn more

Learn more about our BROACH initiative: The BROACH Initiative: Reaching More Young Women with Heart Disease Screenings

Menopause: Some things get better with age — going through menopause usually doesn’t make the list. As if hot flashes, night sweats and mood changes were not enough, complex hormonal changes that take place during menopause increase a woman’s risk for heart and vascular disease. This risk is exacerbated in women who experience menopause between ages 40-44. They are actually 40 percent more likely to suffer from heart and vascular disease, including having a heart attack, severe chest pain or stroke. Read more

One-third of all cardiovascular outcomes are related to mental health, whether it’s social isolation, anger, depression or anxiety, etc. Depression rates are three times higher in patients with heart disease, and women are much more likely to suffer from a mental health illness than men. That’s why it’s so important to take a proactive strategy to managing your mental health and well-being as part of a heart-healthy lifestyle. Read more from Dr. Courtney Jordan Baechler here.

We’ve all seen the movie scenes where a man gasps, clutches his chest and falls to the ground with a heart attack. In reality, most heart attacks are not that dramatic — they start slowly with mild pain or discomfort. The symptoms can be subtle and people aren’t sure what’s wrong. For women, the signs and symptoms are often less typical and sometimes confusing. Read more