Cardiovascular Diseases in Women: Policies and Practices Around the Globe to Achieve Gender Equity in Cardiac Health

Abstract

The women’s global health agenda has recently been reformulated to address more accurately cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. The aim of the present work was to review the global and national policies and practices that address sex equality in health with a focus on CVDs in women. Scientific databases and health organizations’ websites that presented/discussed policies and initiative targeting to enhance a sex-centered approach regarding general health and/or specifically cardiac health care were reviewed in a systematic way. In total, 61 relevant documents were selected. The selected policies and initiatives included position statements, national action plans, evidence-based guidelines, guidance/recommendations, awareness campaigns, regulations/legislation, and state-of-the art reports by national/international projects and conferences. The target audiences of large stakeholders (eg, American Heart Association, European Society of Cardiology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) were female citizens, health professionals, and researchers. Much as policy-makers have recognized the sex/gender gap in the CVD field, there is still much to be done. Thereby, tailor-made strategies should be designed, evaluated, and delivered on a global and most importantly a national basis to achieve gender equity with regard to CVDs.

Keywords:

• heart disease
• cardiovascular
• women
• health policy
• health management

Abbreviations

AHA, American Heart Association; BHF, British Heart Foundation; CVD, cardiovascular disease; CDC, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; ESC, European Society of Cardiology; FDA, US Food and Drug Administration; NHLBI, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; NIH, National Institutes of Health; NCDs, noncommunicable diseases; UN, United Nations; WHO, World Health Organization.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest for this work.

Additional information

Funding

The present work aws supported by a research grant from the Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society.