Does heart disease affect women of all ages?

Coronary heart disease rarely affects young women. Instead, it usually develops after menopause. Before menopause, the ovaries make estrogen, which helps to protect the heart. One in 10 American women age 45 to 64 has some form of heart disease. That figure increases to one in five for women over age 65.

What are some of the other risk factors for heart disease?

There are several; they include:

• family history of early heart disease
• cigarette smoking
• high blood pressure
• high blood cholesterol
• being overweight
• physical inactivity
• diabetes

These risk factors do not add their effects in a simple way. Rather, they multiply each other's effects. For example, if you smoke and have high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol, you're eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than a woman with no risk factors.