Women & Cardiovascular Diseases (2012)

©2011 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

♥ More than one in three female adults has some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

♥ Since 1984, the number of CVD deaths for females has exceeded those for males.

♥ In 2008, CVD was the cause of death in 419,730 females. Females represent 51.7% of deaths from
CVD.
♥ In the US in 2008, all CVDs combined claimed the lives of 419,730 females while all forms of cancer
combined killed 270,210 females. Breast cancer claimed the lives of 40,589 females; lung cancer
claimed 70,070.
♥ The 2008 death rate from CVD was 244.8. Death rates were 200.5 for white females and 277.4 for black
females.
♥ In 2009, CVD was the first listed diagnosis of 2.9 million females discharged from short-stay hospitals.

 

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)

♥ About 7.5 million females alive today have CHD. Of these, 3.1 million have a history of myocardial
infarction (MI, or heart attack).

♥ Each year new and recurrent MI and fatal CHD will impact an estimated 515,000 women.

♥ The 2008 overall CHD death rate was 122.7. Death rates were 91.9 for white females and 115.6
for black females.

♥ 26% of women age 45 and older who have an initial recognized MI (heart attack) die within a
year compared with 19% of men. In part because women have heart attacks at older ages
than men do, they’re more likely to die from them within a few weeks.

♥ 64% of women who died suddenly of CHD had no previous symptoms.

♥ 604,000 females diagnosed with CHD were discharged from short-stay hospitals in 2009. Women & CVD – 2012 Statistical Fact Sheet

 

Angina Pectoris

♥ More women than men have angina in total numbers (5.0 million vs. 4.0 million).

♥ Among non-Hispanic women age 20 and older, the following have angina: 3.7% of non-Hispanic
whites; 5.6% of non-Hispanic blacks and 3.7% of Mexican Americans.

♥ About 15,000 females diagnosed with angina pectoris were discharged from short-stay hospitals in
2009. Stroke (ICD/10 codes I60-I69) (ICD/9 codes 430-438)

♥ An estimated 4.2 million female stroke survivors are alive today.

♥ Among women age 20 and older, the following have had a stroke: 3.3% of non-Hispanic whites;
4.4% of non-Hispanic blacks and 2.7% of Mexican Americans.

♥ Each year about 55,000 more women than men have a stroke. This is because the average life
expectancy for women is greater than for men, and the highest rates for stroke are in the oldest
age groups.

♥ 2008 stroke mortality was 80,623 for females (60.1% of total stroke deaths).

♥ The 2008 overall death rate for stroke was 40.7. Death rates were 38.6 for white females, 53.4 for
black females, 28.9 for Hispanic females, 24.0 for American Indian or Alaska Natives and 32.1 for
Asian/Pacific Islander females.

♥ In 2009, 504,000 females were discharged from short-stay hospitals after having a stroke.

 

High Blood Pressure (HBP)

♥ One in three adults in the United States has HBP.

♥ A higher percentage of men than women have HBP until age 45. From 45–64 the percentage for
men and women are similar. After that a much higher percentage of women have HBP than men.

♥ Among women age 20 and older, the following have HBP: 31.3% of non-Hispanic whites; 45.7% of
non-Hispanic blacks and 28.9% of Mexican Americans.

♥ In 2008, 34,229 females died from HBP. They represented 56.1% of the deaths from HBP.

♥ The 2008 overall death rate from HBP was 18.3. Death rates were 14.5 for white females and 38.6
for black females.

♥ 319,000 females diagnosed with HBP were discharged from short-stay hospitals in 2009.
Congenital Cardiovascular Defects (ICD/10 codes Q20-Q28) (ICD/9 codes 745-747)

♥ The 2008 overall death rate for congenital cardiovascular defects was 1.1. Death rates were
1.0 for white females and 1.2 for black females.

♥ 27,000 females were discharged from short-stay hospitals in 2009 with a diagnosis of congenital
cardiovascular defects.

 

Heart Failure (HF)

♥  About 2.6 million females alive today have HF.

♥ In 2008, the overall prevalence for people age 20 and older is 2.6%. Among women age 20
and older, the following have HF: 1.8% of non-Hispanic whites; 3.8% of non-Hispanic blacks and
1.3% of Mexican Americans.

♥ In 2008 there were 156,839 female any- mention deaths from HF (55.7% of any- mention HF
deaths).

♥ The 2008 overall any- mention death rate from HF was 84.6. Death rates were 75.9 for white females and 78.8 for black females.

♥ 563,000 females diagnosed with HF were discharged from short-stay hospitals in 2009.
Rheumatic Fever/Rheumatic Heart Disease (RF/RHD) (ICD/10 codes I00-I09) (ICD/9 codes 390-398)

♥ 2008 mortality showed 2,116 female deaths from RF and RHD. This represents 67.4% of deaths
from RF/RHD.
♥ The 2008 overall death rate for RF/RHD was 1.0. Death rates were 1.1 for white females and
0.9 for black females.

 

Smoking

♥ Among Americans age 18 and older, 20.4 million women (17.5%) are smokers. Among those,
20.5% of non-Hispanic whites, 16.7% of non-Hispanic blacks and 9.0% of Hispanics or Latinos are smokers.
High Blood Cholesterol and Other Lipids

♥ In 2008, 53.8 million adult women (46.3%) had total blood cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or
higher.

♥Among women age 20 and older, the following have total blood cholesterol levels over 200 mg/dL:
47.0% of non-Hispanic whites; 41.2% of non-Hispanic blacks and 46.5% of Mexican Americans.

♥ Of these, the following have levels of 240 mg/dL or higher: 16.9% of non-Hispanic whites; 13.3%
of non-Hispanic blacks and 14.0% of Mexican Americans.

♥Among women age 20 and older, the following have an LDL cholesterol of 130 mg/dL or higher:
32.0% of non-Hispanic whites; 27.7% of non-Hispanic blacks and 31.6% of Mexican Americans.

♥ Among women age 20 and older, the following have a HDL cholesterol less than 40 mg/dL: 10.1%
of non-Hispanic whites; 6.6% of non-Hispanic blacks and 12.1% of Mexican Americans.
Physical Inactivity

♥In 2010, only 16.4% of women age 18 and older met the 2008 Federal Physical Activity
Guidelines.

♥19.1% of non-Hispanic whites and 11.2% of non-Hispanic blacks met the guidelines in 2010.
Overweight and Obesity

♥ Among women age 20 and older, the following are overweight or obese: 59.3% of non-Hispanic
whites; 70.8% of non-Hispanic blacks and 75.1% of Mexican Americans.

♥ Of these, the following are obese: 32.8% of non-Hispanic whites; 51.0% of non-Hispanic blacks
and 43.4% of Mexican Americans.

 

Diabetes Mellitus (DM)

♥ Of the estimated 18.3 million Americans with physician-diagnosed DM, about 10.0 million are female.

♥ In the total population age 20 and older, 8.2% of women have physician-diagnosed DM. The
prevalence is 6.5% of non-Hispanic whites; 14.7%of non-Hispanic blacks and 12.7% of Mexican
Americans.

♥ Of the estimated 7.1 million Americans with undiagnosed DM, about 2.7 million are female.

♥In the total population age 20 and older, 2.3 percent of women have undiagnosed DM, using
American Diabetes Association criteria of fasting plasma glucose of 126 mg/dL or more. The
prevalence is 1.9% of non-Hispanic whites; 4.0% of non-Hispanic blacks and 3.8% of Mexican
Americans.

♥ Of the estimated 81.5 million Americans with pre-DM, about 33.4 million are female.

♥In the total population age 20 and older, 28.8% of women have pre-DM, using American Diabetes
Association criteria of fasting plasma glucose of 100 to less than 126 mg/dL. The prevalence is
27.9% of non-Hispanic whites; 27.1% of non-Hispanic blacks and 34.35 of Mexican Americans.

♥In 2008, DM killed 35,207 females (49.9% of deaths from DM).
Women & CVD – 2012 Statistical Fact Sheet

♥  The 2008 overall death rate from DM was 21.8. Death rates were 16.7 for white females and
37.2 for black females.

♥ 375,000 males diagnosed with DM were discharged from short-stay hospitals in 2009.

 

Metabolic Syndrome

♥  The age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome is 31.5 %, 38.8% and 40.6%, respectively for
white, black, and Mexican-American women.

 

©2011 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited.
Additional charts may be downloaded directly from the online publication at:
http://circ.ahajournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1161/CIR.0b013e31823ac046
Or at: www.heart.org/statistics

The American Heart Association requests that this document be cited as follows:
Roger VL, Go AS, Lloyd-Jones DM, Benjamin EJ, Berry JD, Borden WB, Bravata DM, Dai S, Ford ES,
Fox CS, Fullerton HJ, Gillespie C, Hailpern SM, Heit JA, Howard VJ, Kissela BM, Kittner SJ, Lackland
DT, Lichtman JH, Lisabeth LD, Makuc DM, Marcus GM, Marelli A, Matchar DB, Moy CS, Mozaffarian D,
Mussolino ME, Nichol G, Paynter NP, Soliman EZ, Sorlie PD, Sotoodehnia N, Turan TN, Virani SS,
Wong ND, Woo D, Turner MB; on behalf of the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and
Stroke Statistics Subcommittee.

Heart disease and stroke statistics—2012 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2012: published online before print December 15, 2011,

10.1161/CIR.0b013e31823ac046.

If you have questions about statistics or any points made in the 2012 Statistical Update, please contact
the American Heart Association National Center, Office of Science & Medicine at statistics@heart.org.
Please direct all media inquiries to News Media Relations at inquiries@heart.org or 214-706-1173.
For additional information, charts and tables, see
Heart Disease & Stroke Statistics – 2012 Update.