Cardiovascular Disease Overview

The term “cardiovascular disease” encompasses a group of conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels. These include coronary artery disease (also called ischemic heart disease), which can lead to angina and myocardial infarction; cardiac arrythmias; and cerebrovascular disease, including stroke.^{1 , 2} In rare cases, cardiovascular diseases may be congenital, but the majority develop during the course of a person’s life, particularly in older individuals. Coronary artery disease is the most common form of cardiovascular disease in the United States.²

The major risk factors for cardiovascular disease include hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, obesity, and diabetes mellitus.³ Some of these factors may disproportionately increase the risk of cardiovascular disease among women when compared with men; for example, some research suggests that the increase in the risk of coronary artery disease is greater among women who smoke than among men who smoke.⁴ Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, such as pre-eclampsia, can increase a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease long after the pregnancy itself is over.^{4 , 5} In addition, depression, which occurs more often in women than in men, has been recognized as a risk factor for coronary artery disease.⁴

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States, and it can affect women at any age.⁴ Because the signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease may present differently in women than in men, women may be less likely to receive a timely diagnosis and treatment. In addition, some forms of cardiovascular disease, such as coronary microvascular disease and stress-induced cardiomyopathy, are more common in women.^{4 , 6}

The Women's Health Initiative is investigating ways to prevent a number of chronic diseases in postmenopausal women, including cardiovascular disease and breast and colorectal cancer. This initiative, which is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), originally began in the early 1990s and continues to provide insights into women’s health to this day.⁷