Female Health
Health issues affecting women, particularly heart diseases.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women worldwide. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for 35% of deaths in women each year – more than all cancers combined. It can affect women of any age.
Yet, CVD in women continues to be seriously understudied, under-recognized, under-diagnosed, and under-treated. This is primarily the result of various misconceptions, including the widespread view that cardiovascular disease affects men more than it does women. Some heart disease symptoms in women can differ from those in men, which leads to women being more frequently misdiagnosed, or their symptoms dismissed as anxiety-related.
The fact that women continue to be under-represented in clinical trials is one of the reasons why there is insufficient awareness among female patients and their doctors of sex-specific symptoms and presentations of CVD. There is an urgent need for an increased understanding of CVD in women among both healthcare professionals and the general public. The more women know about heart disease, the better chance they have of beating it.
Facts About Women and Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined and yet only 44% of women recognize that cardiovascular disease is their greatest health threat.
Among females 20 years and older, nearly 45% are living with some form of cardiovascular disease and less than 50% of women entering have good heart health. Overall, 10% to 20% of women will have a health issue during pregnancy, and high blood pressure, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes during pregnancy greatly increase a woman’s risk for developing cardiovascular disease later in life.
51.9% of high blood pressure deaths, otherwise known as hypertension or the “silent killer,” are in women, and out of all women, 57.6% of Black females have hypertension — more than any other race or ethnicity. While there are an estimated 4.1 million female stroke survivors living today, approximately 57.5% of total stroke deaths are in women (2).
the female health
CVD mortality trends for US men and women 1980 to 2018. More women than men died of CVD between 1984 and 2012.
Reproduced from Virani SS, Alonso A, Benjamin EJ, Bittencourt MS, Callaway CW, Carson AP, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics- 2020 Update: A report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2020:141:9:e139-e596. 