Cancer Articles (Dr. S.N White)

Although more men than women smoke in the United States (26 million men, 23 million women), the rate of decline for male smokers is sharper than that for female smokers: 42 percent of men have quit smoking since 1965 as compared to 32 percent of women. Smoking carries an additional risk of heart attack for women when they also take birth control pills.

I hear women have less risk of heart disease than men. Is this true?  The rate of heart disease in premenopausal women is approximately half that of men. However, following menopause women catch up to men within ten years and even have slightly higher rates after age seventy. The problem is that heart disease in women often goes undiagnosed in both younger and older women. The reason for this underdiagnosis stems from two sources: society in general, including women, has developed a false sense of security, believing that women are protected; and physicians and other health care professionals have habitually underestimated the extent of heart disease in women, although recent publicity has partly remedied this situation. Greater attention and publicity must be given to this problem.