What every woman should know about heart disease: did you know cardiovascular disease presents differently in women than in men? Find out what you can do to protect against this no. 1 killer.

Picture this: A woman and her husband are preparing dinner. She starts to feel short of breath, light-headed and sick to her stomach, and her back begins to hurt. Her husband probably advises her to take a break, take an aspirin or just go lie down. Same scenario, only this time, it's the man who feels sick. He has a sudden, crushing pain in his chest. His wife grabs the phone and dials 911.

That's why women are at special risk when they have heart attacks: Because their symptoms are often deceptively mild--shortness of breath, jaw or back pain, nausea or vomiting, dizziness or light-headedness--and because heart attacks are still thought of as a man's disease, medical care is often delayed. (Some women do experience chest pain, but it's not their most prominent symptom.) That may be one of the reasons women are less likely than men to survive heart attacks.

5 Ways Women Can Protect Their Hearts

1. KNOW THE RISKS

A woman who smokes and takes birth control pills runs an especially high risk of heart attack or stroke. Hormone treatments used at menopause increase risk as well. Early studies suggested that hormone replacement therapy reduced risk, but carefully controlled studies completed in 2003 and 2004 proved just the opposite: Hormone therapy increases chances of heart attack or stroke.

2. ELIMINATE RISKY BEHAVIOR

Protect yourself by maintaining a normal weight, as well as healthy cholesterol levels. Also, avoid tobacco--smoking is more harmful for women than men, for reasons not fully understood. Cholesterol goals are generally the same for women and men, with minor exceptions: HDL ("good" cholesterol) should be above 40mg/dl for men, while women need to be above 50mg/dl. Also, elevated levels of triglycerides are a risk factor for both sexes, but a high level of these blood fats appears to impart a greater risk for women. Keep yours below 150mg/dl. Supplements help, too. Look for combination formulas designed for high cholesterol or even low HDL (e.g., Enzymatic Therapy recently introduced a new formula called HDL Booster).