The Silent Crisis: Women and Heart Disease

When you think of women’s health in October, chances are breast cancer comes to mind. Pink ribbons, fundraising walks, and mammogram reminders are everywhere. But here’s a startling truth: heart disease kills more women each year than breast cancer, lung cancer, and all forms of cancer combined. And yet, it often goes undetected until it is too late.

At Boone Heart, we believe this silence is dangerous, and it’s time to break it.

Why Women’s Hearts Are Overlooked

For decades, heart disease was considered a “man’s disease.” Clinical trials primarily studied men, and diagnostic tools were designed around their symptoms. As a result, women’s risk factors and warning signs have been misunderstood and dismissed.

• Different symptoms: While men often experience the “classic” crushing chest pain, women may have shortness of breath, nausea, jaw pain, or overwhelming fatigue, symptoms that are too often brushed off as anxiety, stress, or “just getting older.”

• Hormonal shifts: Estrogen offers some protection early in life, but after menopause, risk skyrockets.

  
  

• Under-diagnosis: Studies show women are less likely than men to receive preventive testing, appropriate treatment after a heart attack, or even lifesaving therapies like stents.

This combination creates a silent crisis: women are more likely to die after their first heart attack than men.

The Risk Across Ages

• Young women (20s–30s): Stress, autoimmune conditions, and pregnancy-related risks (like preeclampsia) raise cardiovascular vulnerability.

  
  

• Midlife women (40s–50s): Menopause, shifting hormones, and rising cholesterol or blood pressure increase hidden risks.

  
  

• Older women (60+): Risk compounds with age, but preventive strategies are still powerful—often life-changing.

How Boone Heart Closes the Gap

At Boone Heart, prevention isn’t a buzzword, it’s our mission. Through advanced imaging, functional medicine, and the Boone Heart Protocol, we give women clarity and control over their heart health.

• Advanced imaging: Coronary calcium scans and CT angiography detect silent disease years before symptoms appear.

  
  

• Holistic evaluation: We integrate hormones, nutrition, and lifestyle into every plan.

  
  

The Healthy 100 framework: A blueprint designed to help patients not just live longer, but live vibrantly into their 80s, 90s, and beyond.

What Women Can Do Today

1. Know your numbers: Cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and don’t forget inflammatory markers.

2. Ask about advanced testing: Imaging can reveal what routine labs can’t.

3. Listen to your body: Fatigue, jaw pain, or nausea may signal your heart is in trouble.

4. Take prevention seriously at every age: Heart health isn’t a “later in life” concern, it starts now.

The Bottom Line

Heart disease is the silent crisis in women’s health, but silence doesn’t have to win. With knowledge, testing, and preventive care, women can rewrite their story and claim not just more years, but better years.

At Boone Heart, we’re here to make sure women’s hearts are no longer overlooked.