Severe Deep Pains in Center Back Women Related to Heart ?

Women and Heart Disease

The term heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions, including coronary artery disease and heart attack.

Although heart disease is sometimes thought of as a man's disease, almost as many women as men die each year of heart disease in the United States.

This map shows death rates from heart disease in women in the United States. The darker red indicates a higher death rate.

• How does heart disease affect women?
• What are the symptoms of heart disease?
• What are the risk factors for heart disease?
• How can I reduce my risk of heart disease?
• More Information

How does heart disease affect women?

Despite increases in awareness over the past decades,only about half (56%) of women recognize that heart disease is theirnumber 1 killer.¹

Learn more facts about women and heart disease:

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, killing 299,578 women in 2017—or about1 in every 5 female deaths.²
• Heart disease is theleading cause  of death for African American and white women in the United States. Among American Indian and Alaska Native women, heart disease and cancer cause roughly the same number of deaths each year. For Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander women, heart disease is second only to cancer as a cause of death.³
• About 1 in 16 women age 20 and older (6.2%) have coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease:⁴
  • About 1 in 16 white women (6.1%), black women (6.5%), and Hispanic women (6%)
  • About 1 in 30 Asian women (3.2%)

What are the symptoms of heart disease?

Although some women have no symptoms, others may have⁵

• Angina (dull and heavy or sharp chest pain or discomfort)
• Pain in the neck, jaw, or throat
• Pain in the upper abdomen or back

These symptoms may happen when you are resting or when you are doing regular daily activities. Women also may have other symptoms, including⁵

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fatigue

Sometimes heart disease may be "silent" and not diagnosed until you have other symptoms or emergencies, including⁵

• Heart attack: Chest pain or discomfort, upper back or neck pain, indigestion, heartburn, nausea or vomiting, extreme fatigue, upper body discomfort, dizziness, and shortness of breath
• Arrhythmia: Fluttering feelings in the chest (palpitations)
• Heart failure: Shortness of breath, fatigue, or swelling of the feet, ankles, legs, abdomen, or neck veins

If you have any of these symptoms, call 9-1-1 right away.

What are the risk factors for heart disease?

High blood pressure, high LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. Abouthalf of all people in the United States (47%) have at least one of these three risk factors.⁶

Several other medical conditions and lifestyle choices can also put people at a higher risk for heart disease, including

• Diabetes
• Having overweight or obesity
• Eating an unhealthy diet
• Physical inactivity
• Drinking too much alcohol

How can I reduce my risk of heart disease?

To lower your chances of getting heart disease, it's important to do the following:⁷

• Know yourblood pressure. Having uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to heart disease. High blood pressure has no symptoms, so it's important to have your blood pressure checked regularly. Learn more about high blood pressure.
• Talk to your doctor or health care team about whether you should be tested fordiabetes. Having uncontrolled diabetes raises your risk of heart disease.⁸ Learn more about diabetes.
• Quit smoking. If you don't smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, learn ways to quit.
• Discuss checking your blood cholesterol and triglycerides with your doctor. Learn more about cholesterol.
• Make healthy food choicesexternal icon. Having overweight or obesity raises your risk of heart disease. Learn more about overweight and obesity.
• Limit how much alcohol you drink to one drink a day. Learn more about alcohol.
• Manage stress levels by finding healthy ways to cope with stress. Learn more about coping with stress.

More Information

CDC's Public Health Efforts Related to Heart Disease

• State and Local Public Health Actions Program
• Million Hearts^® external icon
• WISEWOMAN™

For more information on women and heart disease, visit the following websites:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office on Women's Health (OWH)external icon
• American Heart Associationexternal icon
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)external icon

1. Mosca L, Hammond G, Mochari-Greenberger H, Towfighi A, Albert MA, American Heart Association Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in Women and Special Populations Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology, Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, Council on Cardiovascular Nursing, Council on High Blood Pressure Research, and Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism. Fifteen-year trends in awareness of heart disease in women: Results of a 2012 American Heart Association national surveyexternal icon.Circulation. 2013;127(11):1254–63, e1–29.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2017 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released December 2018. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2017, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on Feb. 18, 2019.
3. Heron M. Deaths: Leading causes for 2016pdf icon [PDF-2.3M].National Vital Statistics Reports. 2018;67(6).
4. Benjamin EJ, Muntner P, Alonso A, Bittencourt MS, Callaway CW, Carson AP, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2019 update: a report from the American Heart Associationexternal icon. Circulation. 2019;139:e1–e473.
5. NHLBI. Heart Disease in Womenexternal icon. Accessed October 2, 2018.
6. Fryar CD, Chen T, Li X. Prevalence of uncontrolled risk factors for cardiovascular disease: United States, 1999–2010 pdf icon [PDF-494KB]. NCHS data brief, no 103. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2012.
7. HHS, OWH. Heart disease preventionexternal icon. 2015. Accessed October 2, 2018.
8. HHS, OWH. Diabetesexternal icon. Accessed October 2, 2018.

Severe Deep Pains in Center Back Women Related to Heart ?

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/women.htm

Share this post