HeartSmart™ Women: A guide to living with and preventing heart disease and stroke

The most serious health problem facing women is heart disease and stroke. Every year, seven times more Canadian women die of these two diseases than breast cancer. Unfortunately, many women are still unaware they are at risk for heart disease and stroke.

While some risk factors such as your family heritage and history cannot be changed, you can change other lifestyle risk factors. Smoking, physical inactivity, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity greatly increase your chances of developing heart disease. These risk factors are things you can change or control to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke and improve your quality of life.

This booklet was written specifically for women because symptoms, response to diagnostic tests, treatments and outcomes of heart disease may differ for women and men. In this booklet, you will: 

• Understand more about how heart disease and stroke may affect you.
• Learn the signs and symptoms of heart disease and stroke.
• Manage your risk factors.
• Make informed decisions about treatment options.

Click here to download the brochure (PDF, 7,992 KB)

Call 1-888-HSF-INFO (1-888-473-4636) for a free copy of this publication. You may also ask for health information on healthy living, stroke and heart disease, or how you can offer support in your community.

Last modified: October 2011
Last reviewed: April 2011