Two thirds of women in the UK are unaware that heart disease and stroke are the number one cause of female death, affecting one in three women in Europe, according to new research.

Only one third (34%) of British women know that cardiovascular disease (CVD) posed the highest risk, nearly half of women questioned (49%) wrongly feel that cancer is the biggest threat. Others cite respiratory diseases, diseases of the nervous system or traffic accidents as the most likely cause.

Compared to their European counterparts, German women had the highest level of awareness of the issue (54%), with British women the least aware (34%), according to a survey amongst British, French, German and Swedish women, conducted on behalf of the World Heart Federation (WHF).

Awareness is lowest amongst the younger generation of European women, with only 1 in 3 (33%) 18–24 year olds across the four countries naming CVD as the biggest killer, compared to 54% of 45–54 year olds.

Whilst awareness is important, taking action on heart health is vital. Physical activity is a key way of helping to keep your heart healthy, but the research found that three quarters of women in the four countries are doing less than the World Health Organization’s recommended levels of activity. One in ten of those questioned admitted that they do not spend any time at all doing moderate exercise (brisk walking, gardening, dancing etc.) in an average week.

To help reverse this trend, in the run up to this summer’s UEFA Women’s EURO in The Netherlands, women across Europe are being encouraged to join the #MatchFitWoman 28 day challenge: improving their heart health by setting goals to get active for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

The challenge and research are part of A Healthy Heart Your Goal, a joint campaign by WHF, UEFA, The Dutch Heart Foundation, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and the Healthy Stadia network, which aims to raise awareness of heart health and encourage women and children to be more physically active.

It’s clear women want to do more exercise – 72% of women questioned across the four countries would like to be more active, rising to 81% when it comes to 18–24 year olds. But what’s holding them back? Key barriers to exercise for the women questioned include: embarrassment about their lack of fitness (31%), being too busy (42%) and worries about the cost of exercise (36%).