Cardiovascular disease (CVD) ranks first among all disease categories in hospital discharges for women.

*    Nearly 39 percent of all female deaths in America occur from CVD, which includes coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

*    CVD is a particularly important problem among minority women. The death rate due to CVD is substantially higher in black women than in white women.

*    In 2003, CVD claimed the lives of 483,842 females; cancer (all forms combined) 267,902.

*    In 2003, coronary heart disease claimed the lives of 233,886 females compared with 41,566 lives from breast cancer and 67,894 from lung cancer.

*    38 percent of women compared with 25 percent of men will die within one year after a heart attack.

*    Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability; an estimated 15 to 30 percent of stroke survivors are permanently disabled.

*    Misperceptions still exist that CVD is not a real problem for women.