If Women Have Fewer Heart Attacks Than Men, Do They Need to Exercise?
Women’s hormones give them a healthier edge over men when it comes to avoiding cardiovascular disease. If that’s the case, then why should women adhere to an exercise program? It is true that women do generally have a lower incidence of heart attacks than do men, but only before reaching menopause. The fact is that women’s death rates from cardiovascular disease rank right up there with the men within ten years of menopause.
A study conducted by the Harvard Medical School involving 73,00 women found that the most active women lowered their risk of heart attack and stroke by an impressive 40 percent over sedentary women. Another study involving post-menopausal women was conducted at the University of Washington. The results of this study indicated that active post-menopausal women had a 48 to 60 percent lower risk of heart attack than did sedentary women.
So, yes, women should get involved in an exercise program because those hormonal benefits only last for so long. And women might as well start early because exercise will provide them with health benefits in addition to decreasing cardiovascular disease. Exercise has been shown to help women to control stress, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.