Call to action: cardiovascular disease in women.

One third of women between the ages of 50 and 75 have cardiovascular disease, which accounts for more than 50% of all deaths among women annually. Cardiovascular disease not only is the leading cause of death among women; it is more lethal and less aggressively treated in women than in men. Twice as many women--505,440--die from heart disease as from all forms of cancer combined. Despite the compelling statistics, only 8% of women consider cardiovascular disease a personal health threat. The scenario is troubling because women appear to understand so little or to deny their cardiac risks and so not recognize their ability to control them. Clearly, there is an urgent and compelling need for physicians to take an active role in identifying health behaviors that may affect the risk of cardiovascular disease in their female patients. Dialogue between the physician and patient should begin early to foster preventive steps, and the communication and education must continue throughout the patient's life span. Cardiovascular risk factors, including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, overweight, diabetes, and menopause, should be identified and addressed for all women.