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Improving women’s heart health and cardiovascular care

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More than 60 million women in the U.S. have some form of heart disease, including arrhythmia, heart failure and coronary artery disease. Join Washington Post Live during National Heart Month for conversations with public officials and health experts about cardiovascular disease risk factors for women, the disproportionate impact on women of color and how lifestyle changes can improve heart health.

Click here for the transcript

“What we know is that fewer women than men are referred for cardiac rehabilitation, and of those who are referred, fewer women actually start and complete cardiac rehabilitation. And when you look at women by race and ethnicity and even age, the disparities get even worse.” — Janet Wright (Video: Washington Post Live)

“There is a lack of awareness among women to recognize the early symptoms of a heart attack. So, they tend to seek medical attention a little later. Younger women, in particular, may not take symptoms like heartburn, jaw pain or arm pain seriously. Women under 65 should be the focus of awareness and education for both patients and doctors.” – Ramesh Mazari (Video: Washington Post Live)

“I was part of the Computational Cardiovascular Research Group at MIT, and we had access to these massive datasets of all the studies that are currently being used to inform clinical decision-making. And we realized, ‘Oh my goodness, only a quarter of the data is female… We’re training these algorithms primarily on data from men.’ That was an eye-opener.” – Alicia Chong Rodriguez (Video: Washington Post Live)

“Seventy percent of the U.S. population is obese. … Honestly, from what I’ve seen, these drugs are revolutionary. I’ve seen patients that I’ve followed for years come in, they take the drugs, they have a follow-up appointment six months later, their cholesterol goes down, their blood pressure improves, they’re able to discontinue some of their blood pressure medications. Of course, that’s not the case for everyone, but it’s very impressive.” – Alexandra Lansky (Video: Washington Post Live)

“Why haven’t we made women understand what it means to get a heart scan? I think that’s where the campaign comes in. We need to make the public understand, and we need medical professionals to bring this technology to the forefront. Why are people coming in for a checkup and leaving without understanding what’s going on with their heart?” – Martha Gulati (Video: Washington Post Live)

“Family history, diabetes, cholesterol, smoking… and weight and overall health. One of the things that’s unique about the African-American community is we have a different body image… so telling people they need to lose weight and not actually giving them the tools or the reasons leads to diabetes… and family history.” – Jennifer L. Ellis (Video: Washington Post Live)

Chief, Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Director of Preventive Cardiology, Smit Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Founder and CEO of Blue Martech

Professor of Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine

Director of the Yale Cardiovascular Clinical Research Program

Interventional Cardiologist and Professor of Medicine at George Washington University

The following content was produced and paid for by Washington Post Live event sponsors. The Washington Post newsroom had no role in the production of this content.

(Video: Washington Post Live)

Addressing the gender gap in cholesterol care

High LDL (bad) cholesterol is a global concern for women, yet it is underrecognized, underdiagnosed and undertreated. In a segment presented by Amgen, WomenHeart CEO Selina Gore speaks to women with cardiovascular disease about the urgent need for healthcare providers and women to prioritize LDL testing and management. Keeping LDL low is the best way for women, especially those who have experienced a heart attack, to reduce their risk of heart attack and stroke.



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