From the Society for Women’s Health Research:

Women under the age of 45 are four times more likely to know how much they weighed in high school as they are to know their cholesterol number, according to the results of a national survey released today by the Society for Women’s Health Research, a Washington, D.C., based advocacy organization.

More than half (56.8 percent) of the 18-44 year old women surveyed are concerned that high cholesterol will be a health concern during their lifetime and almost half (48.0 percent) are actively trying to manage their cholesterol, yet only 21.1 percent know their own cholesterol level. Only half (51.7 percent) of the women surveyed had ever had a cholesterol test and one-quarter (25.9 percent) did not even know how cholesterol is tested.

“Heart disease is a serious threat to women. That fact that only one in five women surveyed knew their cholesterol level shows how much work remains to be done,” said Phyllis Greenberger, president and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research. “You can’t wait until mid-life or later to monitor, and manage when needed, your cholesterol level, which is a major risk factor for heart disease in both women and men.”  read more