Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and kills more women each year than all cancers combined, according to St. Luke's cardiologist, Dr. Tracy Stevens.
Although women are dying from heart disease at near-equal rates as men, a recent report found that physicians often prescribe differing preventative treatment advice.
"Women are less likely to be prescribed cholesterol medicines," Stevens says. Instead, they are suggested to make lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise.
"The common misconception in women," she added, is "because your HDL is good, your ratio is fine, which is absolutely incorrect."
Stevens joined Up To Date to discuss women's heart health, patient advocacy and the importance of gender-aware studies.
- Dr. Tracy Stevens, medical director, Saint Luke’s Muriel I. Kauffman Women's Heart Center
