Despite Heart Disease Risk, Few Women Take Heed

More than three-fourths of Northern California women ages 40 to 70 are at risk for heart disease, but few perceive themselves at risk, according to a Sutter Health survey released Friday.

The survey coincides with the National Heart Association’s campaign each February to raise awareness of the No. 1 killer of American women: heart disease.

Researchers interviewed 2,200 women randomly selected across Northern California last month. The survey was conducted by independent firm MSI Research.

Although 82 percent of the women between the ages of 40 and 70 reported at least one risk factor for a heart attack, only 28 percent saw themselves as at risk. One-third of the women had multiple risk factors, according to the Sutter Health survey.

“There continues to be a huge disconnect between women understanding the risks for heart disease and women changing their behavior and lifestyles to lessen their actual risk of having a first heart attack,” Dr. Diane Sobkowicz, a cardiologist at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, said in a statement.

Risk factors for heart disease include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, being at least 20 pounds overweight and a family history of the disease.

At least 1 million Americans die from heart disease each year, and the disease has killed more women than men every year since 1984. One in every five American women have some form of heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.

The most-reported risk factor among the women surveyed was being overweight. Fifty-five percent said they were at least 20 pounds overweight.Although many women don’t perceive themselves at risk for a heart attack, the survey reported greater awareness among women of the warning signs of a heart attack than last year, the first year the survey was conducted.

Most men experience chest pain as a primary warning for heart attack, but fewer than 30 percent of women do, according to national data.

Instead, women experience shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, unexplained fatigue or weakness or pain between the shoulder blades.

Contact Rebecca Vesely at rvesely@angnewspapers.com .