In South Africa cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains one of the major killers as one in four women before the age of 60 will have some form of heart condition.1

1 in 35 women is at risk of breast cancer, 1 in 4 of heart disease – you should be 9 times more diligent about checking your heart health.

Worldwide CVD causes 8.6 million deaths among women annually.2

It is the largest single cause of mortality among women, accounting for a third of all deaths in women worldwide.2

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) affects women approximately 10 years later than men, possibly because of the protective effect of oestrogen prior to the onset of menopause.3

Oral contraceptive use can increase the risk of developing blood clots and having a heart attack when combined with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and smoking.4

Overall 30% of South African women are obese, and 26, 6% are overweight. If we consider women per population group, the percentage of obese women is: 5

Asian                21%
White                23%
Coloured           26%
African              32%

Women who smoke double their risk of stroke and the more cigarettes smoked the higher the risk.6

Non-smokers who breathe secondhand smoke have between a 25% to 30% increase in risk of coronary heart disease.7

Sources:
1 The Department of Health. 1998.
2 World Health Organization. The world health report, 2004 : changing history. WHO, Geneva,  2004.
3 Stangl V, Baumann G, Stangl K. Coronary atherogenic risk factors in women. Eur Heart J.2002;23(22):1738-52.
4 Barton M, Dubey RK, Traupe T. Oral contraceptives and the risk of thrombosis and atherosclerosis. Expert Opin Investig Drugs. 2002;11(3):329-32.
5 These data are from the first South African Demographic and Health survey (SADHS) conducted in 1998 in a random sample of about 14 000 South Africans. The second SADHS survey was conducted in 2003.
6  Kurth T, Kase CS, Berger K, Gaziano JM, Cook NR, Buring JE. Smoking and risk of hemorrhagic stroke in women. Stroke. 2003;34(12):2792-5.
7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke: a report of the Surgeon General. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health. 2006.