SOUTH Lakeland has the highest rate of deaths in Cumbria of women suffering from heart disease.

New statistics from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) show that on average 210 women in the area die from heart disease every year.

That compares to 190 in Allerdale, 180 in Carlisle, 120 in Barrow, 100 in Eden and 100 in Copeland.

Across the North West, more than 10,000 women die every year from heart and circulatory diseases.

The charity has now opened its first ever virtual ‘Women’s Room’ to raise awareness of heart disease.

It says the online room will also create a ‘unique and supportive space’ for women living with the disease.

The charity says that despite being stereotyped as a ‘man’s disease’, more than 435,000 women in the North West live with a heart or circulatory condition.

Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse, said: “Coronary heart disease kills nearly three times as many women as breast cancer yet we continue to prop up the myth that heart problems are just for men.

“Everything from TV adverts to soap plots show men with heart conditions but it’s incredibly rare to hear about a woman with heart disease.

“As a result women often feel isolated when they’re diagnosed with a heart condition. We want to shout from the rooftops that if you’re a woman living with heart disease you are not alone.

“Our Women’s Room can give the ‘informational hug’ women need.”

Even with supportive family and friends around them, women can feel lonely and afraid when they are diagnosed with a heart condition, said the charity.

The Women’s Room – an online hub available 24 hours a day – allows women with heart conditions to share their experiences and find support from others who know what they are going through in a women-only online forum.

Visit the site at www.bhf.org.uk/women