Heart disease is still the number one killer of women in the US, though the words “heart attack” usually conjure up an image of a gray-haired man. The symptom of chest pain or tightness is the most common signal of a heart attack in either males or females, but the American Heart Association says women need to be aware that they may experience nausea, shortness of breath, or neck and back pain instead or in addition to chest pain.

What Should Women Do to Benefit Their Heart Health?

Two leading women cardiologists discuss what women need to know to keep their hearts healthy. Are statins helpful for healthy women? How should women react if they believe they may be having a heart attack? What else is critical for heart health?

This Week’s Guests:

Rita Redberg, MD, MSc, is Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and Director of the UCSF Women’s Cardiovascular Center. She is editor of the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The photo is of Dr. Redberg.

Viola Vaccarino, MD, PhD, FAHA, is the Wilton Looney Chair of Cardiovascular Research at Emory University and Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology in the Rollins School of Public Health. She served on the American Heart Association committee that recently issued a scientific statement on Acute Myocardial Infarction in Women (Circulation, online Jan. 25, 2016).  The research she describes during the interview was published in Psychosomatic Medicine, Apr., 2014.

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