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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Heart Disease Deaths in American Women Show
Dramatic Decline
17,000 fewer women died of heart disease as
awareness climbs
 February 2, 2007 - The number of heart disease
deaths in American women is decreasing. A new study shows that the
number of women who die from heart disease has shifted from 1 in 3 women
to 1 in 4 a decrease of nearly 17,000 deaths from 2003 to 2004,
according to a report yesterday by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health.
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Health & Medicine |
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"The good news announced today shows that The Heart
Truth awareness campaign is helping," said Mrs. Laura Bush.
"When I
first heard that heart disease is the number one killer of women, I was
surprised. I joined The Heart Truth and its national Red Dress project
- to raise women's awareness and fight back against heart disease. By
learning about heart disease, and taking action to reduce risk factors,
women can save their own lives."
Today, on National Wear Red Day, we have much to
celebrate with the release of this data. It is very good news indeed,
said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director of NHLBI.
To see such a
significant reduction in deaths underscores that the efforts of many
individuals and organizations to raise awareness, improve treatment and
access, and inspire women to take action are truly saving lives.
NHLBI experts analyzed preliminary data for 2004,
the most recent year for which data are available. This analysis showed
that the last few years in particular have seen a steady decline in the
number of heart disease deaths in women deaths have gone down in each
of the five years from 2000 to 2004, a consecutive yearly decline which
has not occurred before.
Furthermore, in 2004, life expectancy at birth
reached an all-time high for women: 80.4 years. The steady decline in
heart disease mortality has certainly contributed to this trend, said
Dr. Nabel.
Additionally, significant progress has been made in
increasing awareness among women that heart disease is their leading
killer up from 34 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2005. We are
confident that recent advancements in the women and heart disease
movement have helped to propel this change, said Dr. Nabel.
More women are aware that heart disease is their
leading killer, and research shows that this heightened awareness is
leading them to take action to reduce their risk. They are more likely
to step up their physical activity, eat healthier, and lose weight.
Despite this progress, challenges remain. Heart
disease continues to be the leading killer of women, yet many women
still do not take heart disease seriously or personally, and millions
have one or more of the risk factors which can dramatically increase
their risk of developing the condition.
And, by just about any measure from awareness of
risks, to prevalence of risk factors, to numbers of deaths heart
disease remains more serious among women of color. Our goal continues
to be achieving even greater awareness and contributing to the trend of
steady decline in deaths, said Dr. Nabel.
In New York today, NHLBI, through The Heart Truth
campaign, continues its awareness efforts by returning to New York
Fashion Week for the fifth year with its signature platform the Red
Dress Collection Fashion Show.
NHLBIs introduction of The Heart Truths Red Dress
as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002
sparked a national movement that has united partners to promote the
common goal of a greater awareness of heart disease and better heart
health for all women. The Red Dress is fast becoming one of the most
recognizable health symbols in the United States.
In a 2007 survey commissioned by Johnson & Johnson
on behalf of The Heart Truth, 57 percent of U.S. women recognized the
Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease, up from 39
percent awareness in 2006 and 25 percent in 2005.
Walking in this years Fashion Show presented by
Johnson & Johnson and affiliated companies, with national sponsors
Celestial Seasonings and Swarovski, and media partner Lifetime are
Celebrated Women including: Angela Bassett, Betsey Johnson, Billie
Jean King, Camilla Belle, Danica Patrick, Katharine McPhee, Kelly Ripa,
Kim Cattrall, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Kristin Chenoweth, Lauren Hutton, Mae
Jamison, Natalie Morales, Paula Zahn, Phylicia Rashad, Rachael Ray, and
Sheila Johnson. The Red Dress Collection 2007 Fashion Show will be
presented at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week today at 11:00 a.m. featuring
red dresses created exclusively for The Heart Truth to remind women of
their #1 health threat.
Participating designers in the 2007 Collection
include: Alia Khan, Alidio Michelli, Betsey Johnson, Bill Blass, Bob
Mackie, Calvin Klein, Carmen Marc Valvo, Carolina Herrera, Daniel
Swarovski, Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Douglas Hannant, Ellen
Tracy, Gustavo Cadile, Jovovich-Hawk, Kenneth Cole, Lyn Devon, Max Azria
Atelier, Michael Kors, Narciso Rodriguez, Nicole Miller, Oscar de la
Renta, Rebecca Taylor, Tracy Reese, and Zac Posen.
The Heart Truth aims to spread the word that heart
disease is largely preventable. In fact, just by leading a healthy
lifestyle such as following a heart healthy eating plan, getting
regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking
Americans can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82
percent.
Some risk factors, such as age (55 or older for
women) and a family history of early heart disease, cant be changed.
Women can, however, control certain risk factors, such as high blood
pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, being overweight or
obese, and being physically inactive. Eighty percent of midlife women
(ages 40 to 60) have one or more of these risk factors. Having even one
risk factor doubles a womans chance of developing heart disease, and
having three or more risk factors increases the risk tenfold.
Editor's Notes:
About The Heart Truth and the Johnson &
Johnson Survey
The Harris Interactive survey commissioned by
Johnson & Johnson and affiliated companies on behalf of The Heart Truth,
was conducted by telephone within the United States between January 18
and January 21, 2007 among 1,015 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for
age, sex, geographic region, and race were weighted where necessary to
bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.
With a pure probability sample of 1,015 one could say with a ninety-five
percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error
of +/- three percentage points. Sampling error for the sub-samples of
men (n= 505) and women (n= 510) would be higher and would vary. However
that does not take other sources of error into account.
The Heart Truth partners include: The Office on
Women's Health, Department of Health and Human Services; the American
Heart Association; WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women with
Heart Disease, and other organizations committed to the health and
well-being of women. To learn more, visit
www.hearttruth.gov.
For additional information, visit
http://media.hearttruth.ogilvypr.com/. For downloadable images and
photography, please visit
www.hearttruth.gov or
http://hearttruth.ogilvypr.com or email your inquiry to
media@hearttruth.org.
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