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Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women
Izza Shahid1,2, Eleonora Avenatti2, Anoop Titus2
1Houston Methodist Academic Institute, Houston, Texas, US.
Insights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in women needs improvement. This review highlights female-specific risk factors and strategies to enhance primary CVD prevention throughout a woman's life.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Women's Health
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death in women.
- Current CVD risk assessment may not fully address female-specific vulnerabilities.
- Traditional risk factors combined with female-specific enhancers increase CVD risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review female-specific risk enhancers for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
- To discuss primary prevention strategies tailored for women.
- To identify gaps in current CVD prevention methods for women.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of contemporary guidelines and research on CVD in women.
- Analysis of female-specific risk factors across the life cycle.
- Synthesis of strategies for improved primary CVD prevention in women.
Main Results:
- Female-specific risk enhancers include hormonal contraception, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and menopause.
- These factors add significant risk beyond conventional CVD risk factors.
- Current prevention strategies may underestimate the cumulative risk in women.
Conclusions:
- Enhanced understanding of gender-specific risk is crucial for effective CVD prevention.
- Tailored primary prevention strategies are needed to address women's unique vulnerabilities.
- Improving CVD primary prevention in women requires integrating life-cycle risk assessment.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of mortality in women, necessitating innovative primary prevention strategies. Contemporary guidelines on primary prevention of CVD highlight the increasing prevalence of CVD risk factors and emphasize the significance of female-specific risk enhancers that substantially augment the future risk of CVD. These risk factors occur throughout a woman's life cycle, such as hormonal contraception, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and menopause, all of which confer an added layer of risk in women beyond the conventional risk factors. Despite this, current methods may not fully capture the nuanced vulnerabilities in women that increase their risk of CVD. In this review, we highlight gender-specific risk enhancers and subsequent prevention as well as strategies to improve primary prevention of CVD in women.
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