Read My Lips – LIPids, that is! Did you know that lipid panel testing is the most comprehensive way to determine high cholesterol?
The Society for Women’s Health Research’s (SWHR) Read My Lips campaign aims to emphasize the importance of women knowing their risk factors for heart disease and understanding and the critical role cholesterol screening – and specifically, lipid panel testing – for women’s heart health.
Policymakers and clinicians alike have important roles to play in improving women’s heart health across the lifespan, by increasing heart health awareness, improving education, and ensuring access to important screenings and lipid panel testing.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart disease, stroke, heart failure, and hypertension, is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. When it comes to heart health, there is evidence of significant impacts on women. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), women accounted for 48.1% of reported deaths due to cardiovascular disease in 2019.
By advocating for increased research focused on women’s cardiovascular health and for tailored prevention and treatment strategies, we can promote more effective, equitable care and, ultimately, improve health outcomes for women at every stage of their lives.
This toolkit is intended to serve as a guide to support advocacy efforts around CVD and spotlight specific actions you can take now to advocate for women’s heart health.
Use this printable sign to join the women’s heart health conversation:
Tackling heart disease requires a systems-level approach – from education and awareness to federal policies that aim to improve health and quality of life outcomes across the lifespan. Below are some policy resources that are helping to elevate the topic of heart disease:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States, resulting in one in every five deaths. In 2021, about 695,000 people died of heart disease. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated what was already considered a public health crisis of heart health.
Follow SWHR on social media on X (Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Share the #ReadMyLips message on social media by using the Read My Lips General Partner Toolkit and the Read My Lips Policy Partner Toolkit.
#ReadMyLips: The time is now to get serious about addressing women’s #hearthealth! Check out how our partner, @SWHR, is encouraging women to take charge of their heart health and engage #policymakers in the discussion: https://swhr.org/read-my-lips/
DYK women are more likely than men to die from a heart attack? We’re calling on policymakers with @SWHR to support women’s #hearthealth, like lipid panels for cholesterol testing. Tag your representatives to tell them it’s time to #ReadMyLips! Learn more: https://swhr.org/read-my-lips/
We stand with @SWHR on the need for change to support women’s #hearthealth. A lipid panel is the best way to test for #highcholesterol, a risk for heart disease. It’s time for policymakers to #ReadMyLips and support policies to improve women’s health: https://swhr.org/read-my-lips/
SWHR wants to Read Your Lips! Share you heart health or cholesterol story with SWHR and you could help us inform future materials and programming.
In this webinar, speakers discuss how social determinants of health and other factors, such as gender, race, and stigma, might affect an individual’s access to cardiovascular disease screening and diagnosis.
SWHR hosts a “fireside chat” style conversation with Dr. Stephanie Coulter of The Texas Heart Institute about what women should be doing at each age when it comes to managing their heart health
During American Heart Month, SWHR hosted a webinar reviewing the burden of heart disease in women in the United States and launching SWHR’s Heart Health Policy Agenda.
Rates of depression and risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) are increasing in young women (aged 18-49), which may also increase the rates of premature CVD and poor cardiovascular health in women.
Midlife, typically defined as starting at age 35 and going through age 65, represents about 63% of women in the United States, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Yet, health research focused on this critical window for healthy aging interventions in women has been understudied.
Understanding women’s CVD risk and prioritizing early diagnoses are crucial for healthy aging and better patient outcomes.
On August 2nd the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (Labor-HHS). The committee approved the spending bill with a bipartisan 25-3 vote.