Ischaemic heart disease, which is better known as coronary disease, is also a silent killer of women and not just of men.
It has been the common belief in the past that this disease is primarily a male affliction but recent developments have shown that women are just as susceptible and may even be more affected in some ways.
Ischaemic heart disease has indeed become the number one killer disease for women as a result of the faster rise in risk for women as they reach menopausal age.
Ischaemic heart disease is often undiagnosed in women although the symptoms for both sexes are basically the same, according to medical doctors.
Men often accurately describe the indicators of a heart attack, such as pain on the left arm and the left portion of the neck, and a heavy feeling on the chest.
On the other hand, women vaguely describe what they feel during an attack, usually declaring that they feel weak, dizzy, nauseous, or just not feeling good.
Some doctors would therefore declare that this woman may just be imagining things or they might prescribe for the wrong disease.
It is no wonder that women have been observed to have a higher risk of succumbing to heart attacks within a year, in contrast to men.
They also have a higher risk compared to the male population in getting a second heart attack.
Recent findings indicate that heart attack has become the top cause of death of women who are more than 25 years of age, which is against the usual notion that it is breast cancer.
Four out of 10 female deaths are attributable to heart disease, in contrast to only 3.
33 percent for breast cancer.
When women reach menopausal age, heart attacks are two to three times more prevalent than in women before menopause.
It was also found that 63 percent of the deaths in 2003 have been caused by stroke involving women.
High blood cholesterol, stress, obesity, not enough physical activity, high blood pressure, smoking, and diabetes are some of the risk factors for heart disease.
A diet that is rich in fat and cholesterol is believed to lead to heart disease because of the cholesterol deposits that gather in the walls of the coronary arteries which will ultimately harden and block the flow of blood.
Eating the right food, exercising and avoiding cigarettes are just some of the ways to prevent this disease.
Menopause is another contributing factor in women because estrogen has been found to function as a regulator of the amount of bad cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Thus, the amount of bad cholesterol slowly rises as estrogen levels slowly drop.
In summary, women, particularly those who are of menopausal age, should increase their knowledge about the causes of heart disease because it is no longer an affliction dominated by men.
Describing accurately what they are feeling when consulting with a doctor would be helpful in preventing some deaths due to ischaemic heart disease.