Heart Disease by Sex
#WhatYouNeedToKnow
What can sex reveal about your risk for heart disease?
Men develop symptoms of heart disease 10 years earlier, on average, than women do.
Heart disease takes the lives of six times as many women as breast cancer, making it the leading cause
of death.
Surprising risk factors
Men



80 percent of men in their 80 percent of men in their 40s experiencing erectile dysfunction (ED)
actually don’t have a sexual problem—they have a heart problem.
Low testosterone is increasingly seen as being linked to abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes and
heart disease.
Stress, anger and anxiety raise levels of blood pressure and stress hormones, restricting blood
flow to the heart and damaging arteries over time.
In the two hours after an angry outburst, the risk of a heart attack is nearly five times higher.
Women




Women are more prone to depression, which has been linked to heart disease.
Menopause can lead to increased hypertension and higher levels of cholesterol, which are
associated with heart disease.
Women with diabetes develop coronary artery disease at a much earlier age.
Women frequently have unexpected heart attack symptoms, such as indigestion, shortness of
breath or back pain, as opposed to the classic “chest pains.”
Way you can take control







Avoid smoking.
Eat healthy.
Monitor blood pressure.
Exercise regularly.
Talk with your doctor.
Know the signs of a heart attack.
Track your cholesterol.
Sources: Johns Hopkins Medicine