Everyone's got a heart, but it's another one of those organs that's different in men and women. Here's the best advice both of you will ever get for taking care of yours.

That men and women are different is certainly not news. One popular book even suggests that we come from different planets. But recent research suggests that it's more than plumbing and light years that separate us: Our wiring is different too; in particular; that set of wires and pumps known as the cardiovascular system. When we asked leading heart doctors to tell us how you can attack-proof your heart, they nixed a one-sex-fits-all plan in favor of this "his and hers" approach. But they also asked us to remind you of one way that we're all alike: Heart disease is the leading killer of both men and women. So share this article with the heart that's dearest to you.

No more queen of denial. One out of every three women currently under 40 will eventually develop heart disease; more than 505,000 women of all ages died from it in 1996-11 times as many as died from breast cancer. Didn't know that? You're not alone.

"In the past, many doctors didn't know that heart disease was a major cause of death in women, let alone the leading one," says Marianne J. Legato, MD, Prevention advisor and a professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. "Although awareness and treatment have improved somewhat, especially in large cities, the death rate from a first heart attack is twice as high in women under 50 as it is for men of the same age."

The bottom line: It's up to you to ask for more tests or seek another opinion if you feel that your doctor is dismissing your concerns, risks, or symptoms.

Think "down with cholesterol." Aim for a total cholesterol of less than 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), an LDL (bad) of 130 mg/dl or less, an HDL (good) of 45 mg/dl or higher, and triglycerides of less than 150.

"For women, a low HDL is much more predictive of heart disease than a high total cholesterol," says Debra Judelson, MD, medical director of the Women's Heart Institute at the Cardiovascular Medical Group in Los Angeles. "HDL over 60 mg/dl is a positive protector against heart disease," adds Dr. Legato. It may edge your total cholesterol up, but you're still protected against heart disease if your total cholesterol/HDL ratio is 4.0 or less.

Dr. Judelson suggests that you ask your doctor to tack on one more measurement to your regular cholesterol test: lipoprotein (a), a protein strand that's attached to bad cholesterol molecules. When researchers from the Framingham Heart Study tested these levels in more than 3,000 women, they found that participants with lipoprotein (a) above 25 mg/dl doubled their risk of heart disease.

Rate your risk.
In addition to abnormal cholesterol, you're more likely to develop heart disease if you have these risk factors: