Why Do Women Still Miss Out on Cardiovascular Care?

Despite advancements in heart disease management, women in the UK and globally remain underdiagnosed and undertreated for cardiovascular disease, their leading cause of death.

A consensus statement reveals that although there has been significant progress in managing heart disease and stroke, women in the UK and elsewhere remain underdiagnosed and undertreated for cardiovascular disease, their top cause of death ().

The statement highlights the need for heart health champions, hubs, and dedicated strategies to ensure women receive the care they need as published in Heart.

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They continue to be underdiagnosed, undertreated, and underrepresented in clinical trials in all areas of cardiovascular disease, says the statement.

Among other things, it calls for dedicated women’s heart champions and heart hubs, plus a women’s health strategy, to stop the needless death toll from what is essentially, a preventable disease.

The consensus statement was drawn up by representatives from UK cardiovascular, nursing, and patient bodies affiliated with the British Cardiovascular Society, to address unmet needs, ensure parity of care, and improve the health outcomes of women with cardiovascular disease in the UK, and worldwide.

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Conventional cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, are often not treated as promptly or as appropriately as they are in men, despite accounting for around half of all preventable cardiovascular disease deaths, says the statement.

Women face particular cultural, societal, and financial issues, which magnify their heart disease risks, as well as enduring the influence of hormones, pregnancy, and menopause, across their lifespan, notes the Statement.

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And their biology, physiology, and body shape not only affect their risks of cardiovascular disease but also the effectiveness of diagnostic procedures and treatment, it adds.

Healthcare professionals and the public mistakenly believe that women’s risk of cardiovascular disease is lower than men’s, says the statement.

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“Myths and unconscious biases within clinical practices and societal perceptions further obscure the reality that heart disease does not discriminate by sex,” it says.

And all too often women’s voices are unheard and their heart symptoms aren’t taken seriously enough, it adds.

The statement sets out a series of actions for clinicians and their professional bodies in each of the major cardiovascular disease areas of: coronary artery disease; valvular disease; heart failure; inherited heart disease; congenital heart defects; and heart rhythm disorders.

These include:

Raising awareness of traditional and women-specific risk factors for all types of cardiovascular disease
Ensuring that women are included in cardiovascular disease research
Making sure that the public and clinicians know that coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death for women
Ensuring equitable access to specialist cardiac care, genetic testing, and family screening for women with inherited heart disease
Addressing the under-representation of women in clinical trials of new cancer immunotherapy treatments
Setting up registries to monitor cardiac toxicity as a result of cancer chemotherapy for everyone, specifically for women
Enhancing women’s participation in cardiac rehabilitation programs by offering flexible hybrid/virtual options
Increasing clinician awareness of the strengths and limitations of each diagnostic method in women with confirmed or suspected cardiovascular disease
Making women’s cardiovascular disease health ‘everyone’s responsibility’ by including this in primary care clinicians’ contractual obligations
Leveraging influence to highlight and address sex biases in healthcare

Patients and those advocating on their behalf also have a role in advancing women’s cardiovascular disease care, says the statement.

For example, they should:

Call for a holistic woman-centered approach to heart care that incorporates women’s experiences and insights
They should engage the media, among others, to raise awareness about the importance of cardiovascular health for women
Tailor information to the unique needs of women
Highlight heart conditions that predominantly or exclusively affect women
Co-design training for healthcare professionals to become more attuned to women’s specific needs

The statement also calls for the establishment of women’s heart champions to offer peer-to-peer support and dedicated women’s heart hubs to check on conventional risk factors, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight, and provide lifestyle advice on diet and exercise. And a dedicated women’s health strategy should be created, it suggests.

Strategies to Combat Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Health professionals, professional bodies, charities, and the NHS can do their bit by mounting coordinated campaigns with unified messaging to raise the profile of women’s heart health, it says.

“Despite significant progress in the management of [cardiovascular disease], it remains the UK’s number one killer for women. Unfortunately, women are underdiagnosed, undertreated, and under-represented in all [cardiovascular disease] areas,” says the statement.

If its recommendations are followed, these will “address the sex disparities in the everyday care of patients in all settings, aiming at saving many women from losing their lives unnecessarily from preventable conditions in the UK and also worldwide,” it concludes.

Professor André Ng, President of the British Cardiovascular Society, which co-owns Heart with BMJ Group commented: "The joint British Cardiovascular Societies’ consensus document is the first to comprehensively detail the many layers of inequalities that exist in relation to cardiovascular disease in women, who clearly need better access to early and accurate diagnosis and timely treatment. Raising awareness across the medical profession, to patients and the general public is an important first step.”

“The British Cardiovascular Society will work with our affiliated societies in all areas of cardiology as well as other stakeholders, including patient organizations and NHS leaders, to identify key work packages that will bring transformative change to improve care and achieve better outcomes for cardiovascular care in female patients."

Reference:

Advancing the access to cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment among women with cardiovascular disease: a joint British Cardiovascular Societies’ consensus document - (https://heart.bmj.com/content/early/2024/09/17/heartjnl-2024-324625)

Source-Eurekalert