The female heart is vulnerable to cardiovascular disease: emerging prevention evidence for women must inform emerging prevention strategies for women.

Not half a century ago, cardiovascular and coronary heart disease were viewed both by the clinical practice community and the general public as a male problem. Witness a 1960s American Heart Association conference on women and cardiovascular disease titled “How Can I Help My Husband Cope with Heart Disease?” and the initial introduction of the American Heart Association’s Prudent Diet in a public education pamphlet entitled “The Way to a Man’s Heart.” Index items of “women” or “female” were notably absent from the Scientific Sessions programs of the major national cardiac societies, in contrast to contemporary multiple entries and sessions devoted to heart disease in women.