It took a long time for scientists and physicians to get it through their heads that women are at risk of cardiovascular disease, says University of Arizona women’s health researcher Marietta Anthony, PhD.

"In the ER, emergency rooms women used to be sent home because their heart attack wasn’t recognized" she says. "It even showed in the language that was used – men’s symptoms were called ‘typical’, and women had 'atypical' symptom".

Percentage Risk of Heart Attack in Men
as Compared to Women

Considering what’s been said here, it shouldn’t be surprising that experts have known since 1989 that a healthy man can cut his heart attack risk by 44%, simply by taking a low-dose aspirin every other day – but they didn’t know what the same drug could do to a woman until 2005. The answer: If she didn’t have heart disease, aspirin didn’t lower her odds of having a heart attack at all…

Still, the 2005 findings showed an upside for aspirin, says study leader Julie Buring, SCD, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health. The 10-year study of nearly 40,000 women revealed that regularly taking a low-dose aspirin cuts the risk of stroke by 17% - a sizable advantage, because women are actually at higher risk of stroke than heart attack.

What's Best for Women?

Well, if you’re under age 65, you probably can forget about preventive aspirin and focus on diet and exercise to lower your chances of a heart attack.

But if you have stroke risks – you have a family history, you’re African American, or you have high blood pressure or diabetes – talk with your doctor about whether adding low-dose aspirin makes sense for you.

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