Every year on 29 September World Heart Day raises awareness about the risks of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke.

The aim is to help people make a promise to help themselves, their family and surrounding community look after their hearts.

Did you know that heart disease is not just a man's disease as women are also dying each day?

Heart Research UK is challenging the misperception that heart disease is a ‘man’s disease’ and encouraging women, of all ages, to take action to understand the risks and recognise the symptoms of a heart attack.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer in the UK every year, and is one of the main causes of death in women worldwide. 830,000 women in the UK are currently living with CHD and 32,000 women are admitted to hospital following a heart attack each year in the UK – an average of 88 women per day, or four per hour.

CHD is the most common type of cardiovascular disease and is usually the cause of heart attack. There are a number of key medical risk factors including high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity and poor diet that contribute to the startling figures highlighted above.

Also, research has found that there is a gender gap in heart attack care. Women have a higher chance of receiving the wrong initial diagnosis after a heart attack and are less likely than men to receive recommended heart attack treatments. This means that women with CHD are dying unnecessarily from heart attacks and have worse outcomes than men.



So on World Heart Day make that promise to yourself and remember to look after your heart and those of friends and family.