The report highlights that women are more likely than men to experience delayed or missed diagnoses because they often have their symptoms attributed to other causes like stress or anxiety. This is further complicated by the fact that women’s heart disease can present differently than it does in men, making accurate diagnosis even more challenging. This results in poorer health outcomes, particularly for women from underserved communities.
The Global Heart Hub (GHH) and the Centre for Research Equity have collaborated to tackle the pressing issue of late, missed, and misdiagnosis of heart disease in women. This partnership was part of an international roundtable discussion held in Madrid on April 22, 2024, bringing together a diverse group of global stakeholders from patient organisations, academia, healthcare, and industry to address the challenges faced by women in cardiovascular health.
GHH’s Working Group on Women and Heart Disease is patient-led. It aims to develop actionable recommendations to improve screening, diagnosis, and treatment for women with Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) globally. Dr Paula Wray from the Centre for Research Equity provided crucial support for this initiative, emphasising the importance of equity in healthcare research and practice.
This collaboration exemplifies the CfRE’s mission to advance understanding of and improve inclusive research practice in health and care. By addressing the unique challenges women face in cardiovascular health, we're taking a significant step towards true health equity.
- Dr Paula Wray (Centre for Research Equity)
The resulting report titled Late, Missed and Misdiagnosis of Heart Disease in Women delves into the complexities of diagnosis, treatment, and care for cardiovascular disease in women. It addresses the challenges and disparities experienced by those who identify as women and those who face gender-related barriers in accessing healthcare.
The Centre for Research Equity in collaboration with GHH emphasises the critical importance of equity in healthcare for all, with equity extended to barriers such as race, age, socioeconomic factors, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
During the roundtable event, participants reached a consensus on several priority actions designed to address cardiovascular challenges in women:
- Integrating women’s cardiovascular health into medical education: embedding information on female-specific CVD risk factors and symptoms into medical training for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
- Improving public awareness campaigns: launching global initiatives to raise awareness about women’s heart health through patient stories and targeted messaging.
- Prioritising cardiovascular screenings in primary care: encouraging earlier and more routine heart health screenings for women in primary care settings, focusing on common risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
- Advocating for gender equity in research: calling for mandatory sex-specific data collection and analysis in CVD research, ensuring that women are fairly represented in clinical trials.
This roundtable discussion marks a significant step towards closing the gender gap in cardiovascular health. By bringing together global stakeholders GHH and the Centre for Research Equity hope to drive change at multiple levels—ensuring that women receive timely, accurate diagnoses, and high-quality care.
The report forms the foundation of future advocacy efforts and will help shape policies and practices aimed at improving heart health outcomes for women around the world.
Global Heart Hub is the first global non-profit organisation established to provide a voice for those living with or affected by cardiovascular disease. They are an alliance of heart patient organisations, aimed at creating a unified global voice for those living with or affected by heart disease.