Heart Disease and Women
- Among women, cardiovascular disease claims more lives than the next 14 causes of death combined.
- One out of every two female deaths is from heart disease or stroke.
- The death rate from heart disease is 69% higher in African American women than in Caucasian women.
Heart Disease and Men
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men.
- African American men are 26% more likely than Caucasian men, and almost twice as likely as Hispanic men to die of heart disease.
Heart Disease and Smoking
- Smoking increases heart rate and blood pressure, adding stress that can damage the heart muscle over time.
- Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among middle-aged men and women.
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