The Heart Is A Lady Part

Simply being female can increase your risk for cardiovascular issues. Here’s what you need to know.

- Jessica Migala

“WOMEN’S HEALTH” encompasses more than just your ovaries, uterus, and breasts; it includes taking care of your heart, too. That’s because estrogen, the female sex hormone, has a thorny relationship with the organ. While it can be helpful—by increasing levels of protective HDL cholesterol, keeping “bad” LDL in check, and relaxing veins and arteries to ease blood flow—supplemental estrogen can also make some women vulnerable to stroke or heart disease. What’s more, pregnancy and other conditions that affect only women can have a profound effect on your ticker. It’s time to have a heart-to-heart with your ob-gyn, keeping in mind the following facts about the cardio connection.

The pill is safer than it used to be... but not for everyone.

Newer formulations of the pill contain much lower doses of estrogen, and the latest data show that low-dose birth control only slightly boosts the odds of ischemic stroke (caused by blood clots) among women without stroke risk factors. However, says ob-gyn Katherine Economy, MD, codirector of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease in Pregnancy at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “some medical conditions do rule out taking estrogen-containing contraceptives”—including a history of breast cancer, liver tumors, or cardiovascular disease; migraines with auras; or being a smoker over 35. “Still, an enormous number of women can take the pill safely.”