Coronary heart disease takes years to develop, and, in the case of women, it takes almost a decade longer to show up. By then, a woman is often concerned with other health problems such as cancer, arthritis, or osteoporosis. These diseases tend to draw attention away from the steadily ticking time bomb of heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is the number one killer of American women. More women die of stroke than do men.

Women have lower chances of surviving heart attacks than men. Studies show that 23 percent of women die within a year, compared with 18 percent of men. At older ages, women who have had heart attacks are twice as likely as men are to die from them within a few weeks.

Many women before menopause seem to be protected from the risk of heart attack and stroke, perhaps by the hormone estrogen, which raises HDL ("good") cholesterol levels while lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol. But as women approach menopause, around age 50, things change and the average woman's blood cholesterol begins to rise. After menopause, women's risk for heart attack and stroke continues to rise with age. Loss of estrogen is a significant contributor to women's developing heart disease after menopause.

Most men's cholesterol levels become more stable around age 55, while both LDL and total cholesterol levels in most women start to rise.

The death rate for African American females from coronary heart disease is 35 percent higher than the rate for Caucasian females. African American females are almost twice as likely to have a stroke and also have a higher risk of dying than Caucasian females.

Smoking is the greatest single preventable cause of death. For women, smoking is the biggest preventable risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

Women who smoke run more than twice the risk of having a heart attack as women who do not smoke.

Many of the risks for cardiovascular diseases are controllable through healthy life habits. If women take control of their lives and choose habits that promote heart health, they can help prevent heart disease and stroke.

Coronary heart disease is a major risk factor for stroke.