Heart disease.

When we hear these words, many of us think of an illness that affects overweight, middle-aged men.

But a new study is telling us that maybe we should think again.

Women… and more surprisingly, women under the age of forty-five… are dying of heart disease at a growing rate.

Researchers from the United States and Britain who tracked artery-related deaths from 1980 through 2002 found that the death rate from heart disease in 2002 for women ages thirty-five to forty-four was the highest it had been since the late 1980s.

Although overall death rates from heart-related issues are falling thanks to improved treatments and cholesterol-lowering medicines, heart disease still remains the leading cause of U-S deaths, wiping out nearly seven-hundred-thousand Americans every year.

The increase in the number of women dying from artery-related illnesses amounts to about a hundred deaths per year… and although this may not sound like a lot, doctors are saying it is significant.

Experts believe heart issues with women under the age of forty-five may be caused by factors such as obesity, genetics and high cholesterol. But they also say that women may be overlooked because their doctors are less likely to suspect them of having heart disease because they are female.

So, women: Listen up! You already know that eating right and exercising are important, but that isn’t always enough. Make sure to have regular check-ups… and don’t let your doctor overlook your heart.