The evidence has long supported the notion that men are at a greater risk for fatal heart disease than women. Not so, at least in Canada. While deaths and hospital visits related to heart disease have dropped 30 percent, more women are dying from the ailment than men.
The Canadian study came to its conclusion by analyzing the country’s national death registry. It started in 1994, and ended in 2004. While the overall number of deaths and hospitalization have decreased significantly, women have slightly edged out men at the end of the study at 50.7 percent of total heart-related deaths, whereas they accounted for 49.3 percent in 1994. Even with that number, the difference between men and women is much closer than one might think.
The successful decline in heart-related fatalities in the Canadian citizenry is attributed by the experts to two major reasons: a decline in risky behavior like smoking, and the use of preventative medicines that control cholesterol.
According to the study’s authors, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world.
June 28th, 2009