Recently, a friend of mine went to the ER with pain in her left shoulder and shortness of breath. I'm too young for heart disease, she said to me when I called to check on her. But they soon had admitted her overnight for some tests, and though thankfully everything was fine, we both learned a lesson that day. We may be young at heart, but we aren't too young for heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women over the age of 25 and it takes more lives than all cancers combined in that age group. I was astonished by that fact. Though women under 50 are less likely to have a heart attack than men, they are more likely to die from them -- likely because women's symptoms can be vague and because women also tend to ignore them. Though those statistics may concern you, there are steps you can take to keep your ticker ticking in a healthy way. Check out this article from Women's Health Magazine that'll give you eight steps you to a healthy heart. There's a ton of good information there, including specific screening tests you can ask for at your next doctor's visit.