Skip to main content
  • English
American Heart Association Go Red for Women
American Heart Association Go Red For Women
  • Heart Attack and Stroke Symptoms in Women
  • Volunteer
  • ShopHeart
  • Donate
  • Donate
  • site search Search
    Search
  • Heart Disease in Women
  • Know Your Risk
  • Healthy Living
  • Stages of Life
  • Get Involved
  • About Us
  • In Your Community
  • Warning Signs
  • Volunteer
  • ShopHeart
    • English
    • Español
  1. Home
  2. About Heart Disease in Women
  3. Facts
  4. Women's Month Highlights the Haunting Reality of Heart Disease

Women's Month Highlights the Haunting Reality of Heart Disease

illustration profile of diverse women

Dr. Tara NarulaDuring Women’s History Month in March, the American Heart Association is highlighting a haunting reality: Heart disease is women’s No. 1 cause of death.

“This is the thing most likely to kill a woman and we know it is 80% preventable,” said Dr. Tara Narula, a board-certified cardiologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan and CBS News senior medical correspondent.

Close to every 80 seconds, a woman dies from cardiovascular disease, which kills more women than all forms of cancer combined.

“A lot needs to happen” to reduce heart disease among women, Dr. Narula said. “The first thing is awareness, a real understanding that this is their biggest health threat.”

Yet, from 2009-19, the number of women who recognize the deadly potential of cardiovascular disease has dropped from 65% to 44%, with the youngest women, as well as Black and Hispanic women, being the least aware.

“We need to educate women to make heart health a priority,” Dr. Narula said. “Once the damage is done to heart cells, in many cases it can be permanent or disabling.”

She identified three areas to address: disparities in awareness and treatment, concerns specific to pregnancy and lifestyle issues.

Face the factors

  • Public health campaigns tend to focus on preventing diseases such as cancer. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime; more than 43,000 women are expected to die from the disease in 2021. But equal attention needs to be paid to heart health, Dr. Narula said."

    As a society, Go Red for Women has been so valuable,” Dr. Narula said of the AHA campaign. “We need to continue to raise awareness with aggressive public health campaigns.”

  • As caregivers and providers, women tend to care for others before themselves.

    “We’re so focused on everyone else,” Dr. Narula said. “It’s not our natural instinct to help ourselves.”

  • Many women downplay symptoms that could be signs of heart disease, attributing palpitations to stress and chest discomfort to acid reflux.

    “Not understanding the risk, or thinking the symptoms are not related to the heart, or it’s all in their head, is the perfect storm of how women downplay it,” Dr. Narula said.

  • Historically, heart disease research has focused on men, who also die more from cardiovascular disease than any other condition. It accounts for 1 in every 4 male deaths. As of 2020, less than 40% of clinical trial participants were women, an alarming gap that needs to be addressed to ensure research is inclusive of women’s unique needs.

    “For a very long time,” Dr. Narula said, “women weren’t enrolled to the same degree in trials as men. It’s taken the medical establishment a long time to get the understanding that we are not just a smaller version of men. We have our own biological makeup and our physiological processes are different."

Pregnancy and heart disease

“One of the big things has been recognizing and understanding that what happens to women during pregnancy can be a marker for future cardiovascular risk,” Dr. Narula said. “If you have gestational hypertension or diabetes, or if you have preterm delivery, those are all markers for increased risk of heart disease and should prompt women to get plugged in.

“Understanding risk factors and things that happen during pregnancy are a few of the biggest ways we’ve begun to move the needle.”

Dr. Narula suggests women talk to their obstetrician about their heart and to get a referral to a cardiologist.

Take these steps for a healthier heart:

  1. Know your numbers. What’s your blood pressure? Cholesterol levels? Blood sugar? Body mass index?

  2. Be aware of symptoms you may not associate with heart issues. Besides chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, heart palpitations and passing out could all be signs. If you experience them, see your doctor.

    “It's important to make sure it’s not your heart before we say it’s something else like a problem with your lungs or stomach,” Dr. Narula said.

  3. Exercise, eat healthy and manage mental well-being.

“It's never too early to start and it's never too late to change,” Dr. Narula said
 
The AHA recommends adults do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week. It’s also good to do moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activities such as resistance or weights at least two days a week. But even small changes help. Take the stairs. Walk 10 minutes.

Dr. Narula and her husband, also a physician, encourage their two daughters to play outside even on cold winter days and to eat healthy.

"We educate them about how to live healthy with choices they make every day," Dr. Narula said.

“We teach them to meditate, exercise, sleep. By the time we send them off to college, they can go into the cafeteria and not eat a bagel every single morning because they’ve been taught what to do and why it matters.

And because stress and mental well-being affect heart health, Dr. Narula recommends digital tools to help reduce risk. “They’ll help you learn to meditate, to do yoga or with breathing,” she said.


Last Reviewed: Mar 8, 2021

X formerly known as Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Print

About Heart Disease in Women

About Heart Disease in Women
  • Class of Survivors
    • Alison Conklin
    • Andrea Alexander
    • Bre Khounphinith
    • Brittney Saunders Graves
    • Heather Baker
    • Melissa Ziebell
    • Molly McGuire
    • Rajini Poth
    • Robin Eaton
    • Taelur Littlejohn
    • Tania Saiz
    • Victoria Rodriguez
  • Facts
    • Atherosclerosis and Stroke
    • Causes and Prevention of Heart Disease
    • Common Myths About Heart Disease
    • CPR and Women
    • CPR Can Save a Woman's Life
    • Facts, Causes and Risks of Stroke
    • Heart Disease and Stroke in Black Women
    • Heart Disease in Hispanic Women
    • Heart Disease Linked to Dementia in Women
    • Sex and Heart Disease
    • Understanding Congenital Heart Defects
    • Women and Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction (CMD)
    • Women Are More Likely to Die Than Men From Heart Attack
    • Women Veterans and Heart Health
    • Women Who Made History in Cardiology
    • Women's Month Highlights the Haunting Reality of Heart Disease
  • Latest Research
    • African-American Risk Detection Increases
    • Anxiety Linked to Long Term Stroke Risk
    • Exercise Could Lower High Blood Pressure Risk
    • Go Red Strategically Focused Research Network
    • Insomnia May Significantly Raise Stroke Risk
    • Keeping Kids Healthy at Home During Coronavirus
    • Menopause Drug May Increase Blood Clot Risk
    • Positive Patients Exercise Live Longer
    • Why is Heart Disease Research in Women Critical?
    • The State of US Women's Heart Health
    • Netherlands Study Shows Women Arrive Late and Don’t get Best Treatment
    • Women Fare Worse Than Men After Heart Attack
    • Women, the Flu Vaccine and COVID-19
    • Women Not Represented in Research Equally
    • Women's Research Funding
  • Living with Cardiovascular Disease
    • 11 Ways to Ease Back into Fitness
    • Caring for Someone Who Has Had a Stroke
    • Caring for Someone with Heart Disease
    • CMD Survivor Encourages Women to Advocate for Themselves
    • Depression and Heart Disease
    • Heart Strong Heroes
    • Her parents taught her grit caring for others Thrive Article
    • How to Find the Right Cardiologist
    • How to Stay Positive During Heart Disease Treatment
    • How to Stay Social After Heart Disease
    • How to Support a Friend With Heart Disease
    • How to Talk to Your Kids About Heart Disease
    • Living With Heart Disease You're Not Alone
    • Managing Heart Disease
    • Recovering From Heart Disease
    • Sex and Heart Disease: Life After Heart Attack
    • Sex and Heart Disease How to Get in the Mood Post Diagnosis
    • Star Jones continues to sound the alarm about heart disease
    • Statins May Benefit More People
    • Surgery fixed her heart Controlling her thoughts helped her cope
    • Tips for Taking Heart Medications
    • Tips to Combat Depression After a Stroke
    • Understanding Your Heart Diagnosis
    • Volunteer spotlight Dr Suzanne Steinbaum
    • Working Out Safely After a Heart Attack
  • Preventing Cardiovascular Disease
    • Diabetes and Heart Disease
    • Good Nutrition Defense Against Heart Disease
    • How to Prevent Heart Disease After Menopause
    • Exercise to Prevent Heart Disease
    • Heart Doctor Explains Cholesterol Levels
  • Warning Signs and Symptoms
    • Common Questions about Heart Attack in Women
    • Just a Little Heart Attack Video
    • Learn Hands-Only CPR
    • What is a Silent Heart Attack?
    • Symptoms of a Heart Attack in Women
    • Symptoms of a Stroke in Women
  • Women and CPR

Related Articles

young woman reading phone

How do I get healthy before I get pregnant?

Three happy women taking selfie.

Sign up for the Go Red for Women newsletter and connect to the world of women’s health. Put yourself at the top of your to-do list with our resources tailored to women’s unique health and wellness needs.

 

Go Red for health, Go Red for life, Go Red for good, Go Red for Women.

NOTE: All fields required unless indicated as optional.

CVS Health is a proud national sponsor of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement.
Goredforwomen.org/es is made possible through the generous support of the Adriana Gallardo Legacy Fund for Women's Health.

*All health/medical information on this website has been reviewed and approved by the American Heart Association, based on scientific research and American Heart Association guidelines. Find more information on our content editorial process.

American Heart Association

National Center
7272 Greenville Ave.
Dallas, TX 75231

Customer Service
1-800-AHA-USA-1
1-800-242-8721

Contact Us

Hours
Monday - Friday: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. CT 
Saturday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. CT
Closed on Sundays

Tax Identification Number
13-5613797

About Us

  • About the AHA/ASA
  • Annual Report
  • AHA Financial Information
  • Careers
  • International Programs
  • Latest Heart and Stroke News
  • AHA/ASA Media Newsroom

Get Involved

  • Donate Now
  • Make a Memorial Gift
  • Advocate
  • Ways to Give
  • Volunteer
  • ShopHeart
  • ShopCPR

Our Sites

  • American Heart Association
  • American Stroke Association
  • CPR & ECC
  • Professional Heart Daily
  • More Sites
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Threads
  • X formerly known as Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Tik Tok
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • National Health Council Standards of Excellence Certification Program page for Standards of Excellence
  • Better Business Bureau page for American Heart Association
  • Charity Navigator Home
  • Secured by Sectigo page for SSL certificates
×
American Heart Association

This link is provided for convenience only and is not an endorsement of either the linked-to entity or any product or service.

Proceed
  • AHA Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Medical Advice Disclaimer
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Copyright Policy
  • Ethics Policy
  • Conflict of Interest Policy
  • Linking Policy
  • Whistleblower Policy
  • Content Editorial Guidelines
  • Suppliers & Providers
  • State Fundraising Notices


©2025 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
The American Heart Association is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
*Red Dress ™ DHHS, Go Red ™ AHA ; National Wear Red Day® is a registered trademark.