It’s long been known that certain lifestyle and health factors increase the risk of heart disease — but a new study highlights that they could affect women more than men.
Eight specific habits — diet, sleep, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, blood glucose, lipids and blood pressure — appear to have twice the impact on heart health risk for women compared to men, found researchers at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
The findings will be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session in Chicago on March 29-31, 2025.
CANNABIS USE ENDANGERS HEART HEALTH FOR CERTAIN GROUP
The study included data from over 175,000 Canadian adults without existing heart conditions who enrolled in the Ontario Health Study between 2009 and 2017, according to a press release.
The researchers analyzed the participants’ scores for the eight risk factors and then tracked the incidence of seven heart disease outcomes over an 11-year period.
Those outcomes included heart attack, stroke, unstable …