Heart Disease in Women

Heart disease is the leading cause of death of women in the U.S., resulting in more deaths in women than every form of cancer combined. Women often don’t exhibit classic symptoms of heart disease, making diagnosis of the condition challenging.

To assess your risk of heart disease and establish a plan to maintain your heart health, our experts combine 30 years of excellence in heart imaging and diagnostics with advanced early detection technology.

Heart Disease Symptoms in Women

Long before the onset of a heart attack or coronary artery disease, women with heart disease often develop subtle symptoms and signs, including:

• Anxiety or feelings of nervousness
• Insomnia
• Indigestion
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Unexplained or unusual fatigue

There are some risk factors of heart disease that you can’t control, such as your age, family health history, race and your personal medical history of stroke or heart attack. But, there are risk factors of heart disease that you can control, including:

• Keeping your blood pressure at a healthy level
• Quitting smoking
• Lowering your cholesterol
• Getting active and staying active
• Maintaining a healthy weight, and losing weight if needed
• Managing your diabetes, if applicable

Even making modest improvements through the lifestyle factors listed above can reduce your risk of heart disease by as much as 80%.

Managing Heart Disease in Women

Because the signs and symptoms of heart disease in women may not be easily recognized as disease predictors, our cardiologists focus on fighting heart disease through prevention and early detection. Our experts also offer specialized treatment for heart conditions that are typically more common in women, such as:

• Myocardial infarction with no coronary artery disease (MINOCA)
• Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD)
• Coronary vasospasm
• Microvascular coronary artery disease
• Stress on the heart during pregnancy and childbirth, which can worsen existing heart conditions or unmask other disorders.