AHA: Gaps in CVD awareness persist among women

Issue: March 2013

Knowledge about heart disease among younger women and minorities remains low despite improved awareness among women overall, according to results of a survey conducted by the American Heart Association.

Researchers conducted telephone and online surveys on CVD awareness among more than 1,200 women aged older than 25 years and compared the results with data from surveys conducted in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009.

Lori Mosca

Between 1997 and 2012, the researchers noted considerable improvements in awareness of heart disease among women. For instance, the researchers found:

56% of women in 2012 recognized CVD as the leading cause of death among women vs. 30% in 1997 (P<.001).
Only 24% of women in 2012 believed cancer was the leading cause of death vs. 35% in 1997.
Awareness of CVD as the leading cause of death among black (36%) and Hispanic women (34%) in 2012 was on par with that of white women in 1997 (33%) and considerably lower than white women (65%) in 2012.

The researchers also reported that awareness was lowest among women aged 25 to 34 years. Additionally, compared with those aged 65 years and older, women in this younger age group were less likely to discuss CVD risk with their doctors (33% vs. 6%).

“This is a missed opportunity,” Lori Mosca, MD, MPH, PhD, study researcher and director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, said in a press release. “Habits established in younger women can have lifelong rewards. We need to speak to the new generation and help them understand that living heart healthy is going to help them feel better, not just help them live longer. So often the message is focused on how many women are dying from heart disease, but we need to be talking about how women are going to live and live healthier.”

Other results showed:

61% of women cited feeling better vs. 45% who cited living longer as a reason for taking preventive action.
Black women and Hispanic women were more likely to report trusting their health care providers than white women (87% and 78% vs. 72%).
Hispanic women were less likely than white and black women to feel that their health care provider is sensitive to their culture when making health care recommendations (67% vs. 76% and 77%; P<.05).
26% of women reported depression, which has been identified as a barrier to adherence to medical guidelines.

“There are gaps between women’s personal awareness and what they’re doing in terms of preventive steps,” said Mosca, who is also professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. “The American Heart Association has well-established, evidence-based guidelines about heart disease prevention, so we have to better align women’s actions with what is evidence-based.”

For more information:

Mosca L. Circulation. 2013;doi:10.1161/CIR.0b013e318287cf2f.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.