The guide, which is published in Tuesday's issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association (AHA), was last updated in 2004. This time around, the guide emphasizes the importance of focusing on the "lifetime risk" as opposed to differentiating between different age groups among women.
According to the AHA guidelines, women should exercise regularly, follow a healthy and reasonable lifestyle and diet, and for those women over age 65, should consider taking a low dose (81 mg) of aspirin every day.
The AHA recommended diet included eating lots of fruit and vegetables and mostly non-saturated fats (saturated fats should be no more than 7 percent of daily calories). As for reducing lifestyle risk factors, the AHA urged women to avoid smoking and participate in moderate to intense activity, such as a 60 to 90 minute walk, preferably every day.
The new guidelines also offered more specific health advice to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke including watching sodium intake, sticking to low fat dairy foods, exercising to reduce weight, and to consume alcohol sparingly.
According to the report, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for American women, with the lifetime risk of heart attack or stroke for American women hovering at around 50 percent.
