Cardiovascular Disease Symptoms
and Risk Factors

Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Risk Factors and Prevention Section 4

Smoking is often associated with stress and women use smoking more than men in order to cope with stress. This among other factors indicates that men and women smoke for different reasons.

Smoking cessation programs should therefore consider being more gender-specific, teaching women how to better deal with stress. (Chesney, 1991, pp. 148-151) Medication and special behaviour change programs may also be helpful in smoking cessation.

In Canada in 1996, 26% of women age 15 and older smoked, making smoking a significant risk factor. (Health Canada, 2002)

Being a physically inactive person is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. People who are physically inactive are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular and heart disease opposed to those that are physically active.

In women, excess body weight has been linked to stroke, congestive heart failure, heart disease, and heart related deaths; the more overweight a woman is the greater the risk is.

Exercise will increase HDL (high-density lipoprotein) and lower LDL (low-density lipoprotein). People that include regular physical activity in their recovery after a heart attack have been shown to increase their chances of survival. (National Women’s Health Information Center, 2002)

Being physically active therefore helps prevent cardiovascular and heart disease. Physical activity can help control blood pressure and boost levels of HDL cholesterol.

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