Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, head of the Women's Heart Program at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital stated that “Women 35-to-44 have always been thought of as being very low-risk, by the traditional standards. And we know that this isn't always true”.

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology  reported that the death rate from coronary artery disease is increasing in young Americans, especially in women under the age of 45. The reason for this increase is not entirely clear, but the one theory is related to the increase in obesity - and as a result the increase in diabetes - among young American women.

Another theory is that the increased age that women are becoming pregnant increases the risk of heart disease.