Can We Improve Cardiovascular Disease for Women Using Data Under Our Noses?: A Need for Changes in Policy and Focus

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death among women, resulting in 418,665 deaths in 2016, and accounts for 1 in every 4 female deaths in the United States. There are important sex and gender differences in CVD between women and men that contribute to diagnostic, prognostic and treatment uncertainty, resulting in suboptimal CVD care in women. Understanding and addressing these sex and gender differences is an opportunity to improve human health for both women and men. Notably, 86% of US women have at least one pregnancy, and prior work consistently identifies the 1 in 5 pregnancies with adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs), such as gestational hypertensive disorders including pre-eclampsia, to elevate risk for future CVD in women. In short, a risk predictor readily available in the vast majority of women – literally under our collective nose - might be harnessed for relevant sex-specific atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) risk information to address the preventive, diagnostic and treatment gaps that adversely impact women.