stLouISTCardiovascular Health: Women Face Double the Heart Attack Risk
It’s no great surprise to read that men and women both benefit from working out. But women may receive greater benefits from regular exercise than men, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study centered on the importance of exercise as a way to avoid dying prematurely. The researchers studied data from 400,000 people and found that women who exercised were 24% less likely to die early from any cause. Men who exercised, however, were 15% less likely to die early. The study also revealed that the women who exercise had a 36% lower risk of dying from a cardiovascular event, compared to men at 14%. That’s important because women have twice the risk of dying from a heart attack than a man. Mary O’Meara is a nurse practitioner with OSF HealthCare. She says society still views heart attacks more as a man’s disease. That’s simply not true. “Usually, a male is feeling this really bad chest pressure,