You Can Lower Your Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

Managing any heart arrhythmias, diabetes or other cardiac risk factors can help protect against this threat to postmenopausal women.

Published: December 6, 2011

Most women are aware that their risk for heart attack increases after menopause. But a recent study found that many women with coronary artery disease (CAD) may actually be at even higher risk for a different type of event called sudden cardiac death, or SCD. In a study of postmenopausal women published in the Archives of Internal Medicine online on July 25, 2011, SCD was responsible for 54 percent of cardiac deaths and 27 percent of all deaths-a much higher percentage than expected.