These guidelines include a daily regimen of aspirin, more exercise, and a less fatty diet. The guidelines also say that taking vitamins C and E, beta carotene and folic acid will not prevent heart disease.
Director of Preventive Cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and chair of the panel who wrote the guidelines encouraged women to talk to their doctors before taking aspirin regularly. Aspirin can reduce the risk for strokes but it can also cause ulcers and dangerous bleeding if taken incorrectly.
The AHA also found that women need to take preventative action sooner in life and encouraged doctors to start focusing on long term health factors like blood pressure. One risk factor at age 50 greatly raises the risk for serious diseases.
Dr. Sidney Smith, heart disease chief at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, said, "This is a really good gathering of evidence in women."
