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Most heart research was originally into men, but newer studies suggest women have similar risk factors. A recent study found that young women with few risk factors had low chances of dying of a heart attack or stroke over the next 30 years. Most heart research was originally into men, because they cost less to study. They died sooner than women so you needed fewer of them for less time. The result is that risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol relate more reliably to blokes than women. Over the years studies have suggested that what's true for men applies to women, and recently another has reported. It followed 7000 women aged 18 to 39 for 30 years, comparing their chances of dying during that time to five risk factors: smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, weight for height, and diabetes. The news was great. Women with few risk factors when they were young had low chances of dying of a heart attack or stroke - or indeed any other cause of death - over the next 30 years, compared to those with high risk factors. It emphasises that children and adolescents need to be as healthy as possible, as an investment in their later lives. Interestingly, another recent study has shown that women who rated themselves as physically fit were much less likely to have coronary heart disease and that fitness was more significant than obesity.
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