"A Woman's Heart" is a 1992 album featuring six legendary female Irish artists; it sold more than any other album in the history of the Irish music charts.

We hope that A Woman's Heart Attack, the American Heart Association's first scientific statement on myocardial infarction in women, gets at least that much attention. The paper, published in the journal “Circulation,” points out that:

• High blood pressure is more strongly associated with heart attacks in women than in men.

• Young women with diabetes are at four to five times the risk for heart disease as young men.

• Compared to white women, black women have a higher incidence of heart attacks, and young black women have higher in-hospital death rates. Hispanic and black women also are more likely to have multiple risk factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

• Women are more likely to have atypical symptoms (along with chest pain), like shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

• After a heart attack, women are consistently not given recommended medications, leading to worse outcomes. Cardiac rehabilitation is also prescribed less frequently.

• Because women live longer, they have more complications following a heart attack than men.

If you're female and are overweight, have elevated LDL cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, or are a smoker, see your doctor to develop a heart-healthy plan that includes stopping smoking, weight management, nutritional counseling, and physical training.

If you're a heart attack patient, insist on medications outlined in treatment guidelines, if appropriate, and get the support you need to join and stick with cardiac rehab.