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Cardiovascular ailments are already the leading cause of female deaths in the world. One of the problems is that most current treatments are not effective with them because they have been developed based on male models. Now, a commission led by researchers proposes recommendations to improve this situation.
Despite being the cause of 35% of women's deaths each year, Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in women remain understudied, underrecognized, underdiagnosed and undertreated.. Furthermore, they are underrepresented in clinical trials, according to the first world report of these diseases in women.
Women continue to be understudied, underrecognized, underdiagnosed and undertreated in heart diseases. In addition, they are underrepresented in clinical trials, according to the first global report of these ailments in women
In order to address these inequalities, 17 experts from 11 countries have prepared this study on CVD in women, which has been published and promoted by 'The Lancet' magazine. The document was presented during a plenary session at the 70th Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology (ACC.21).
In the Commission for Women's Cardiovascular Health - created to carry out this report -, The group of experts has formulated ten ambitious recommendations that help improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases in women.
Among them, stand out Educate health professionals and patients on early detection to prevent heart disease in women; expand heart health programs in more populated and developing regions; and prioritize sex-specific research into heart disease, as well as the development of intervention strategies for women.
According to the magazine, the commission's goal is to help reduce the global incidence of CVD - including Heart disease and stroke, which account for 35% of female deaths worldwide- by 2030. The initiative is in line with the United Nations Action Plan for Sustainable Development.
Research professor Roxana Mehran, from the Mount Sinai Medical Center (USA), points out that “to achieve the goal set by the United Nations bold and different strategies are needed that not only focus on the factors that contribute to heart disease in women, but also identify biological mechanisms specific to the female sex. We need to coordinate efforts and collaborations between policy makers, doctors, researchers and the community at large,” she highlights.
In this sense, Sara Cogliati, researcher at the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (UAM-CSIC) - who does not participate in the study - comments that “The launch of this commission of experts and the report are a fundamental step to improve the current situation in the study of heart diseases in women”. This commission "is very important because it provides precise and defined guidelines so that the world of basic and clinical research can move in a common field, organize its efforts and generate knowledge that ultimately leads to real progress in the treatment of these ailments in women,” he continues.
Precisely, Cogliati is working on a project, which has funding from the L'Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science program, to study how Mitochondria - cell organs responsible for supplying cells with the energy they need - behave differently in men and women, which determines a different response during heart failure.
Prevalence and mortality
For their part, the authors of the report have reported data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study for the first time to describe the extent of cardiovascular ailments in women around the world, including prevalence, mortality and risk factors.
In 2019, there were approximately 275 million women worldwide with CVD, with a global age-standardized prevalence estimated at 6.402 cases per 100.000. The leading cause of death from these diseases worldwide in 2019 was ischemic heart disease (47% of deaths, followed by stroke (36%).
The document highlights that There are considerable geographic differences in heart disease, with the highest age-standardized prevalence in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, while the countries with the lowest prevalence are Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.
