Lifestyle risks weigh heavier on women's hearts: Study

Lifestyle and health factors that are linked with heart disease appear to have a greater impact on cardiovascular risk in women than men, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session.

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While diet, exercise, smoking, and blood pressure have long been associated with heart disease risk, the new study is the first to indicate that these correlations are higher in women than in males.

According to the researchers, the findings indicate that sex-specific screening or risk assessment methodologies could provide a more realistic picture of cardiovascular risk and better drive people to adopt heart-healthy habits.

"For the same level of health, our study shows that the increase in risk [related to each factor] is higher in women than in men--it's not one-size-fits-all," said Maneesh Sud, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the department of medicine, interventional cardiologist and clinician scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto and the study's lead author.

"This is novel and something that hasn't been seen in other studies."