Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular trials- it is time to shatter this glass ceiling
- PMID: 38560055
- PMCID: PMC10978176
- DOI: 10.1016/j.ahjo.2022.100109
Underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular trials- it is time to shatter this glass ceiling
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women, with underrepresented minority (URM) women experiencing the highest mortality rate. For decades, there has been an underrepresentation of women in CVD trials. Although more recent studies have increased the number of women enrolled in these trials, systematic reviews have demonstrated that this enrollment is still low. The National Institute of Health along with other agencies have boosted their efforts to increase enrollment of women and URM populations in CVD trials. Despite these efforts, there still remains a gap. This paper reviews the magnitude, implications and causes of the underrepresentation of women in CVD trials. A proposed multifaceted approach to solving this issue is also outlined in this commentary. Hopefully, implementation of these proposed solutions may facilitate the increase of women, including URM women, enrolled in CVD trials. It is anticipated that this will improve CVD outcomes in these patients.
Keywords: CAD; Cardiovasular disease; Clinical trials; Heart disease; Underrepresented minority populations; Women.
© 2022 The Authors.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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