Women are affected by many of the same conditions and diseases as men, but the diseases affect them differently and at different times. There are also many gender-specific diseases that only affect women.

High blood pressure causes a variety of health problems. Women usually have a lower risk for high blood pressure than men until age 45, the sexes have about the same risk from 45-65, and women have a higher risk for high blood pressure after 65. Additionally, many women with normal blood pressure develop high blood pressure after menopause.

Throughout their entire lives, women are at a higher risk for metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome causes high blood pressure, high glucose levels, abnormal lipid levels and increased waist size. Women with metabolic syndrome have a higher risk for heart attack and stroke.

The autoimmune disease Lupus also affects more women than men. Those with lupus die more often from cancer and infections than otherwise healthy people.

Women are also more likely to experience a urinary tract infection, or UTI, especially women older than 60. UTIs cause frequent urination and a burning feeling during urination. If untreated, it can spread to the kidneys, causing sepsis. Sepsis is the body’s response to infection which sometimes causes death.

Cardiovascular Disease-The top killer of women, cardiovascular disease, is responsible for one-third of all female deaths every year. Women often overlook it because experts once thought it was a “man’s disease.” The results of cardiovascular disease include heart attacks, heart valve problems, strokes and arrhythmias (abnormal beating of the heart).

Heart disease is a type of cardiovascular disease. Women are more likely to experience heart disease 10 years later in life than men, and about 42 percent of women who have a heart attack die within a year. Comparatively, only 24 percent of men die within a year of a heart attack. Heart disease accounts for about 25 percent of all female deaths. An estimated 64 percent of women who die suddenly from heart disease never reported feeling symptoms.

Cancer

Cancer kills more than a quarter of a million women every year in the U.S. The types of cancers that affect the most women include skin cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer.

Breast cancer affects about 12 percent of American women, but the survival rate is high if it’s detected early. It is the second-highest cause of cancerous death among women, accounting for about 40,000 female deaths per year.Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancerous death among women in the U.S., accounting for about 70,000 deaths every year. It passed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancerous death in women in 1987. It is almost always caused by smoking cigarettes.