Heart Diseas---Yes, It Happens in Women

There was a time when we did not believe women were at great risk for heart disease. The problem was that women were not studied like men. All our information was based on studies of middle-aged men. But over the past two decades we have learned that women are at significant risk especially after menopause . The American Heart Association knows that too. They had come out with their first guidelines since 2007 advising what warning signs for doctors to look for. They say doctors should be concerned about illnesses linked to heart disease in women such as lupus rheumatoid arthritis and women with a history of high blood pressure during pregnancy or high blood sugar during pregnancy. They also want doctors to be aware of the fact that women in different racial and ethnic groups have different rates of heart disease.