Heart Disease Deaths in American Women Decline
17,000 fewer women died of heart disease; awareness continues
to climb
New York — The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health announced today that
the number of heart disease deaths in American women is decreasing.
Newly analyzed data shows that the number of women who die from
heart disease has shifted from 1 in 3 women to 1 in 4—a decrease
of nearly 17,000 deaths from 2003 to 2004.
"The good news announced today shows that The Heart Truth
awareness campaign is helping," said Mrs. Laura Bush. "When
I first heard that heart disease is the number one killer of women,
I was surprised. I joined The Heart Truth - and its national
Red Dress project - to raise women's awareness and fight back against
heart disease. By learning about heart disease, and taking action
to reduce risk factors, women can save their own lives."
“Today, on National Wear Red Day, we have much to celebrate
with the release of this data. It is very good news indeed,”
said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director of NHLBI. “To see
such a significant reduction in deaths underscores that the efforts
of many individuals and organizations to raise awareness, improve
treatment and access, and inspire women to take action are truly
saving lives.”
NHLBI experts analyzed preliminary data for 2004, the most recent
year for which data are available. This analysis showed that the
last few years in particular have seen a steady decline in the number
of heart disease deaths in women—deaths have gone down in
each of the five years from 2000 to 2004, a consecutive yearly decline
which has not occurred before. Furthermore, in 2004, life expectancy
at birth reached an all-time high for women: 80.4 years. “The
steady decline in heart disease mortality has certainly contributed
to this trend,” said Dr. Nabel.
Additionally, significant progress has been made in increasing
awareness among women that heart disease is their leading killer—up
from 34 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2005. “We are confident
that recent advancements in the women and heart disease movement
have helped to propel this change,” said Dr. Nabel. “More
women are aware that heart disease is their leading killer, and
research shows that this heightened awareness is leading them to
take action to reduce their risk. They are more likely to step up
their physical activity, eat healthier, and lose weight.”
Despite this progress, challenges remain. Heart disease continues
to be the leading killer of women, yet many women still do not take
heart disease seriously or personally, and millions have one or
more of the risk factors which can dramatically increase their risk
of developing the condition. And, by just about any measure—from
awareness of risks, to prevalence of risk factors, to numbers of
deaths—heart disease remains more serious among women of color.
“Our goal continues to be achieving even greater awareness
and contributing to the trend of steady decline in deaths,”
said Dr. Nabel.
In New York today, NHLBI, through The Heart Truth campaign,
continues its awareness efforts by returning to New York Fashion
Week for the fifth year with its signature platform—the Red
Dress Collection Fashion Show. NHLBI’s introduction of The
Heart Truth’s Red Dress as the national symbol for women
and heart disease awareness in 2002 sparked a national movement
that has united partners to promote the common goal of a greater
awareness of heart disease and better heart health for all women.
The Red Dress is fast becoming one of the most recognizable health
symbols in the United States.
In a 2007 survey commissioned by Johnson & Johnson on behalf
of The Heart Truth, 57 percent of U.S. women recognized
the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease,
up from 39 percent awareness in 2006 and 25 percent in 2005.
Walking in this year’s Fashion Show—presented by Johnson
& Johnson and affiliated companies, with national sponsors Celestial
Seasonings and Swarovski, and media partner Lifetime—are “Celebrated
Women” including: Angela Bassett, Betsey Johnson, Billie Jean
King, Camilla Belle, Danica Patrick, Katharine McPhee, Kelly Ripa,
Kim Cattrall, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Kristin Chenoweth, Lauren Hutton,
Mae Jamison, Natalie Morales, Paula Zahn, Phylicia Rashad, Rachael
Ray, and Sheila Johnson. The Red Dress Collection 2007 Fashion Show
will be presented at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week today at 11:00 a.m.
featuring red dresses created exclusively for The Heart Truth
to remind women of their #1 health threat.
Participating designers in the 2007 Collection include: Alia Khan,
AlidioMichelli, Betsey Johnson, Bill Blass, Bob Mackie, Calvin Klein,
Carmen Marc Valvo, Carolina Herrera, Daniel Swarovski, Diane von
Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Douglas Hannant, Ellen Tracy, Gustavo
Cadile, Jovovich-Hawk, Kenneth Cole, Lyn Devon, Max Azria Atelier,
Michael Kors, Narciso Rodriguez, Nicole Miller, Oscar de la Renta,
Rebecca Taylor, Tracy Reese, and Zac Posen.
The Heart Truth aims to spread the word that heart disease
is largely preventable. In fact, just by leading a healthy lifestyle—such
as following a heart healthy eating plan, getting regular physical
activity, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking—Americans
can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent.
Some risk factors, such as age (55 or older for women) and a family
history of early heart disease, can’t be changed. Women can,
however, control certain risk factors, such as high blood pressure,
high blood cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, being overweight or obese,
and being physically inactive. Eighty percent of midlife women (ages
40 to 60) have one or more of these risk factors. Having even one
risk factor doubles a woman’s chance of developing heart disease,
and having three or more risk factors increases the risk tenfold.
About The Heart Truth and the Johnson & Johnson
Survey
The Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Johnson & Johnson
and affiliated companies on behalf of The Heart Truth,
was conducted by telephone within the United States between January
18 and January 21, 2007 among 1,015 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures
for age, sex, geographic region, and race were weighted where necessary
to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.
With a pure probability sample of 1,015 one could say with a ninety-five
percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling
error of +/- three percentage points. Sampling error for the sub-samples
of men (n= 505) and women (n= 510) would be higher and would vary.
However that does not take other sources of error into account.
The Heart Truth partners include: The Office on Women's
Health, Department of Health and Human Services; the American Heart
Association; WomenHeart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart
Disease, and other organizations committed to the health and well-being
of women. To learn more, visit www.hearttruth.gov.
For additional information, visit http://media.hearttruth.ogilvypr.com/.
For downloadable images and photography, please visit www.hearttruth.gov
or ftp://hearttruth.ogilvypr.com
or email your inquiry to media@hearttruth.org.
SATELLITE INFORMATION
For feed information or hard copy requests, please contact Rebecca
Reissman at News Broadcast Network at (800) 920-6397 x211.
Friday, Feb. 2, 2007
7:30-7:45 PM (ET)
C-Band: Galaxy 25 (formerly IA5)
Transponder 13
Downlink Frequency 3960
Standard Audio: 6.2 & 6.8
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2007
3:30-4:00 PM (ET)
C-Band: Galaxy 25 (formerly IA5)
Transponder 13
Downlink Frequency 3960
Standard Audio: 6.2 & 6.8
Monday, Feb. 5, 2007
1:30-1:45 PM (ET)
C-Band: Galaxy 26 (formerly IA6)
Transponder 13
Downlink Frequency 3880
Standard Audio: 6.2 & 6.8
Please Note: Participants in The Heart Truth’s Red
Dress Collection 2007 Fashion Show were confirmed at time of release
and are subject to change.
Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) plans, conducts, and supports
research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases; and sleep disorders.
The Institute also administers national health education campaigns
on women and heart disease, healthy weight for children, and other
topics. NHLBI press releases and other materials are available online
at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers
and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic,
clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates
the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.
For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
|