Getting at the Heart of Needs in Women’s Heart Health

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease—which refers to several types of heart conditions—is the leading cause of death in both women and men in the United States. Heart disease is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and it has a great economic toll on individuals, families, and society. Yet, despite the health and economic impacts of heart disease, there are persistent challenges in the United States when it comes to research gaps in women’s heart health and in clinical care.

This American Heart Month, the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) hosted a webinar to review the burden of heart disease in women in the United States and will launch SWHR’s Heart Health Policy Agenda, which was informed by an interdisciplinary Working Group of policy experts, researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates in the fall of 2023. SWHR also shared findings from its recent exploration into ischemic heart disease as part of the SWHR Women’s Health Dashboard, which examines national and state data to identify needs and opportunities.