4500 women died last year from either a heart attack or stroke, making it the number 1 killer of women in Ireland.

59 year old Bernadette Moore from Tallaght in Dublin was having the symptoms of a heart attack on and off over ten days in February this year, but ignored it thinking it was indigestion.

42 year old mother of two from East Galway, Maura Canning, discovered her blood pressure was sky high at a random health check by the Irish Heart Foundation, and ended up in hospital.

The Irish Heart Foundation has issued a red alert warning that itÂ’s not just a man'Â’s disease, and women need to regularly check their blood pressure to make sure theyÂ’re not at risk.

Helen Vaughan filed this report from women affected by these diseases.