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RED ALERT ON WOMEN’S HEARTS: EMPHASISNG THE URGENT NEED FOR RESEARCH IN WOMEN

A conference entitled "Red Alert for Women's Hearts”, held on 5 November 2009 reinforced the urgent need for more clinical studies specifically addressing cardiovascular (CVD) disease in women. The occasion was used to launch a publication "Red Alert for Women's Hearts - Women and Cardiovascular Research in Europe" which presents research studies from Europe and identifies knowledge gaps. This joint initiative, of two of our continental members, the European Society of Cardiology and the European Heart Network was part of the EuroHeart project, which is co-funded by the European Commission.

Dispelling myths: “Heart disease is a man’s disease”

Women are equal: The common misconception is that CVD is a man’s disease, but it is not 8.6 million women die from it each year, which is nearly half of the total annual deaths. The conference was a call to action for more gender-specific heart research in women as most of the studies to date have been carried out in men. Dr Marco Stramba-Badiale (Department of Rehabilitation Medicine IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy), who headed the research and report emphasised “current guidelines do not suggest different treatment in men and women, even if less is known about heart disease in women”.

The conference also revealed that in Europe, only 50% of the clinical trials (including both men and women) conducted in the last three years reported findings by gender. Plus, of the 62 randomized clinical trials published recently, only 33.5% of participants were female. It is not a coincidence that mortality rates from heart attack are higher among younger women. If a woman and a man under the age of 50 each have a heart attack, the woman is twice as likely to die from it as the lack of information available for women leads to inappropriate diagnosis and treatment. 

Women have a delayed risk for cardiovascular disease    

CVD risk in women increases after the age of 60, which is approximately 10 years later than in men. Therefore, women do not have a lowered risk of heart disease they have a delayed risk. This is partly due to the menopausal hormones, as the ovarian hormones decrease blood pressure starts to increase and the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol tends to change. Women also generally put on more weight around the menopause.

Smoking makes women more susceptible to heart attacks

Smoking is a bigger risk factor for women than men, making them more susceptible to CVD.  It increases a woman’s risk of dying from a heart attack by about 2.2 fold, where it increases a man’s risk 1.4 fold. This is important because around 80% of women aged less than 40 years and 60% of women aged less than 50 years who have heart attacks are smokers1.

The World Heart Federation, Chief Executive Officer, emphasized the importance of campaigns such as the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women, the first international campaign dedicated to education about and prevention of heart disease and stroke in women, which was generously made available to the World Heart Federation member network “this report highlights how important it is that our members not only continue the great work they are doing to increase awareness for heart disease and stroke through their Go Red for Women campaigns, but also to use their initiatives as a call for action to mobilise gender-specific research studies and ultimately show an impact on reducing the global burden of disease”.   

Further information

Read "Red Alert for Women's Hearts - Women and Cardiovascular Research in Europe">

European Heart Network website >

 

1. A Woman’s Heart. Irish Times.com. November 17, 2009

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