Heart Association tanks America's most heart friendly cities for women

Heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women nationwide, may hit closer to home than many realize. The American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement has just released a study, revealing the nation's top (and least) Heart Friendly Cities.

• Naples-Marco Island is ranked as # 22 out of 130 in the Go Red For Women Heart Friendly Cities Study in the metros with pop. 560,000 and fewer category, which is above the median.

• Cape Coral/Ft. Myers is ranked as # 29 out of 49 in the Go Red For Women Heart Friendly Cities Study in the mid-metros (pop. 560,000 - 1.45 million), which is below the median.

Go Red For Women commissioned the study to help women understand how personal health and environmental risk factors influence heart disease. Residents, communities at large and government officials can use this information to help create socio-political change on the grassroots level as well as educate women on their personal risk for heart disease.

Here's how the study works:

The study focused on the 200 largest metro areas in the United States, which are home to nearly 75 percent of the nation's population. The research analyzed 22 factors for each location in the following categories:

• Risk indicators - factors that may lead to heart disease (predictive)

• Health status - metrics that indicate the current state of heart health (present day)

• Heart disease statistics - measurement of heart disease in the population (mortality)

The 200 metro areas were divided into three categories according to population.

• Mega metros: 1.45 million population and larger

• Mid-size metros: within the 560,000 to 1.45 million population range

• All other metros: population of 560,000 and fewer