The Challenges of Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Ischemic Heart Disease in Women 

Increasing evidence suggests that there are significant differences in the presentation, diagnosis and treatment of ischemic heart disease in women compared to men. Women often present with atypical symptoms, and this, in association with a consistent underestimation of their risk for ischemic heart disease, leads to underdiagnosis and undertreatment in women. Cardiovascular risk factors unique to women have only recently been recognized, and moreover, traditional risk factors have recently been shown to have greater impacts on women. Find out more →

Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Health: Does Sexism Influence Women's Health? 
This commentary provides a brief overview of theory and research that supports the idea that sexism may be related to the disproportionate negative cardiovascular health outcomes in women. It describes sexism as a stressor and outlines its association with a variety of health outcomes as evidence for why sex disparities should be examined within the context of pervasive inequities. To date, population-based studies have not explicitly examined the relationship between sexism and cardiovascular disease, Find out more →

Cardiovascular Risk in Women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Prediabetes: Is it Indeed Higher than Men? 

The relative risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and mortality in diabetic women (in comparison with non-diabetic women) is believed to be greater than that in diabetic men. However, the absolute risk for CVD mortality and morbidity does not appear to be higher in women. In general, there is heterogeneity between studies, and whether there is any definite difference in the CVD risk between sexes at any level of glycaemia is not known. Find out more →

Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Risk in Women
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death, also in diabetic women. Since 1998, when Haffner et al. stated that subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) had a CVD risk “equivalent” to previous myocardial infarction, a large number of studies have shown that this relative risk for CVD due to diabetes is greater in women than in men. CVD in diabetic subjects is not entirely related to chronic hyperglycaemia and a number of other factors such as dyslipidemia, Find out more →

Pregnancy Loss and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study 

The objective of this study was to examine whether pregnancy loss (miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth) is associated with a higher risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke. These results suggest that women who experience spontaneous pregnancy loss are at a substantially higher risk of MI later in life. Recurrent miscarriage and stillbirth are strong sex-specific predictors for MI and thus should be considered as important indicators for cardiovascular risk factors monitoring and preventive measures. Find out more →

Maternal Cardiovascular Changes from Pre-Pregnancy to Very Early Pregnancy
The aim of this study was to assess changes in maternal cardiovascular haemodynamics, including central blood pressure (BP), wave reflections and aortic stiffness, from pre-pregnancy to very early pregnancy. The result of the study shows significant changes occur in brachial and central BP, AIx and PVR in successful, ongoing pregnancies, by about 6-7 weeks gestation; much earlier than has hitherto been assumed. Find out more →

Gender Differences in the Link between Depression and Cardiovascular Disease 

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in women costing more than 500,000 lives each year in the United States alone. Major depression in healthy subjects increases cardiovascular mortality in both men and women. The presence of major depression in patients with recent acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or unstable angina more than doubles the risk of cardiac death in both men and women. In the presence of depression, lack of social integration has an additive effect on cardiac events. Find out more →

Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Disease and Comorbid Depression 
Although gender is increasingly perceived as a key determinant in health and illness, systematic gender studies in medicine are still lacking. For a long time, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been seen as a “male” disease, due to men's higher absolute risk compared with women, but the relative risk in women of CVD morbidity and mortality is actually higher: Current knowledge points to important gender differences in age of onset, symptom presentation, management, and outcome, as well as traditional and psychosocial risk factors. Find out more →

HIV Infection and Cardiovascular Disease in Women 

HIV infection has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women. Whether this association is driven by HIV-specific or traditional risk factors remains unclear, given that gender-stratified assessments of the associations between risk factors and CVD have not been performed consistently. Where separate analyses were done for men and women, important risk factors for CVD, including smoking, hepatitis C status, and alcohol and cocaine use, were not included. Find out more →

Gender Differences in HIV-Positive Persons in Use of Cardiovascular Disease-Related Interventions: D:A:D study 
There is a lack of data on potential gender differences in the use of interventions to prevent and treat cardiovascular disease (CVD) in HIV-positive individuals. This paper investigated whether such differences exist in the D:A:D study. The result shows use of most CVD interventions was lower among women than men in the D:A:D study. Findings from the study suggest that actions should be taken to ensure that both men and women are monitored for CVD and, if eligible, receive appropriate CVD interventions. Find out more →