February is Heart Month. If you're wondering why we're focused on a man's disease, think again: heart disease is our worst enemy, the #1 killer of women. Here are the answers to some questions I'm frequently asked by women.

Why should women be concerned about heart disease? Isn't breast cancer our #1 concern?

To dispel that myth, here are some significant heart disease and stroke facts for the US, though the numbers for the rest of the world are similarly shocking. These numbers come from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the US government's National Institutes of Health (NIH).

1. Contrary to widespread belief, heart disease is the #1 killer of women, and stroke is #3, together taking nearly 1,400 women per day. That's over half a million women every year.

2. Each year, 1.2 million Americans have a heart attack.

3. One out of every two women can expect to have heart disease and to die from it.

4. Forty per cent of all women's deaths today are attributed to heart disease and stroke.

5. Women account for more than sixty per cent of stroke deaths.

6. Heart disease kills more women than men, and has each year for the past 20 years.

7. Heart disease and stroke kill ten times as many women as breast cancer, and more than all cancers combined. Cancer survival rates are increasing, but many of those cancer survivors will die from heart disease.

8. Women have different heart attack symptoms from men, and they're more subtle. Many women, and their doctors, don't know this.

9. Many women don't know that they have a heart problem until AFTER they have had a heart attack, making death the first symptom for many women.

10. Men are much more likely than women to survive heart attacks, and to get more aggressive treatment for their heart disease. As a result, 38% of women who have heart attacks die within one year.

11. In addition to being the number three killer, stroke is the number one cause of long-term disability, with survivors experiencing memory loss, vision problems, and paralysis. Almost five million Americans are stroke survivors, with almost thirty per cent of them permanently disabled.

Excerpted from "A Woman's Guide to Saving Her Own Life", Copyright 2005, Mellanie True Hills

How would I know if I was having a heart attack? Would I have chest pains?

For most men, yes; for most women, no. Women have different heart attack symptoms from men. Where men typically have crushing chest pain and profuse sweating, women tend to have more subtle symptoms, such as shortness of breath, tiredness or fatigue, nausea or mild indigestion, and/or pain in the left shoulder or arm. These symptoms are easily mistaken for other things, so if you have these symptoms, please check with your doctor.

We must stamp out this insidious killer of women, so please spread the word among all the women you know. Call 1-888-MY-HEART to receive your free "Go Red for Women" red dress pin from the American Heart Association, and wear it with pride throughout February and all year long. Anytime you see that red dress pin, or anything red, please use that as a reminder to take care of yourself and your health - they're both precious.

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