Why Are Men at a Higher Risk Than Women for Heart Disease?
The Framingham Heart Study, a project of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and Boston University, shows that men have a greater risk for heart disease at all ages compared to women. The risk for both sexes increases with age. For example, the risk that an average man aged 60 to 64 will experience coronary disease in the next 10 years is 21 percent, compared to 12 percent for an average woman. At younger ages, the difference is more pronounced: between the ages of 40 to 44, men are more than three times more likely than women to suffer serious coronary heart disease within the next 10 years.
