Book excerpt: Heart disease poses the greatest health threat that women in the United States face: One in every three women will die from it each year. But that doesn't have to be the case. Heart disease is not an inevitable part of growing older. In fact, if you reach the age of 50 without developing the major risk factors for heart disease, you can live your entire life without it, and your chances of dying from it decrease from 50 percent to a strikingly low 8 percent. The key to preventing heart disease is embracing a heart-healthy lifestyle—and the sooner, the better. In this groundbreaking book, the American Heart Association shows you how even the smallest changes can make a big difference over time to protect the health of your heart. The Complete Guide to Women's Heart Health explains how gradual and sustainable shifts in your routine, such as using just a little more than one percent of your time each week to exercise or losing just 10 percent of your body weight, can have a far-reaching impact on your health. With specific pointers on diet, exercise, and health care, this book shows you how to get past the common obstacles as well as how to make taking care of your heart easy and attainable for the busy life you lead, at every age. In chapters targeted for every decade of a woman's life from her 20s to her 70s and beyond, the American Heart Association gives women age-appropriate advice on healthy lifestyle choices and heart-health care. Additional information addressing issues of special interest to women and how those issues affect the heart include: · Smoking· Pregnancy· Menopause and hormone therapy· Aging· Diabetes and other health conditions With the latest guidelines on prevention, suggestions on how to work with your healthcare providers to maintain and improve your vitality, details on screening technologies, and facts about common diagnoses and treatment options, this book is the ultimate resource to help you—and all the women in your life—fight heart disease. From the Hardcover edition.