Cardiovascular disease and gender inequality

Cardiovascular diseases are widespread in the general population. However, men and women are not equally affected by these diseases. And contrary to popular belief, women are actually the most vulnerable!

According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular diseases are the 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞. Among these, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬 are the deadliest (accounting for about 85% of deaths). When thinking of the typical heart attack patient, we tend to picture a man who is overweight, a smoker, a regular drinker, or someone under stress. Well, surprisingly, heart attacks are the 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧, whereas cancer holds that position among men. Furthermore, it is estimated that 𝟓𝟔% 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, compared to 46% of men.

𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 have been cited to explain this disparity between men and women. Anatomically, women’s coronary arteries are 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬, which can increase the likelihood of complications. Furthermore, women tend to 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 because they have experienced severe pain at some point in their lives. A 2024 study also showed that women’s pain was 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲. Finally, women also tend to adhere less strictly to cardiac rehabilitation, which aims to prevent recurrence, as they often 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬’ 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 over their own.

Furthermore, in addition to risk factors specific to them, it appears that women are 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬, such as 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. The risk of a heart attack due to smoking is 𝟑𝟎% 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 than in men. Prevention efforts must therefore be significantly strengthened in this population.