Five articles on heart disease in women for Wear Red Day

To celebrate the 14th anniversary of Wear Red Day, Cardiology Today compiled five articles about heart disease in women to help raise awareness.

Survey: Most women unaware that screening for heart disease should start early

A survey commissioned by Orlando Health found that few women knew that simple screenings to detect risk for heart disease should begin at age 20 years.

According to the results of the survey, only 8% of women answered “20 to 29 years old” when asked “at what age should an otherwise healthy person without any risk factors (eg, obesity, family history, heart disease) begin getting heart screenings (blood test, echocardiogram, ECG, stress test)?” Read More

HIV status significantly influences HF outcomes in women

Through an examination of data from a large U.S. health care system-based cohort, HF outcomes were found to differ significantly among women depending on their HIV status.

Among women with HF, those living with HIV had higher rates of HF hospitalization, longer HF hospitalization stays and higher rates of all-cause and CV mortality, Sumbal A. Janjua, MD, and colleagues wrote in a research letter to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Read More

One-year TAVR outcomes superior in women vs. men

Compared with men, women undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement for significant aortic valve disease have superior 1-year survival, although they have a greater adjusted risk for in-hospital vascular complications. Read More

Migraines increase future risk for CVD in women

Migraines in women lead to a higher risk for developing CVD later in life, according to recent study findings.

“Our analysis suggests that migraine should be considered an important risk marker for [CVD], particularly in women,” Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, said in a press release. “The risk of developing [CV] events was ... 50% higher in women with ... migraine. When compared to women unaffected by the condition, the risk of developing [an MI] was 39% higher for women with migraine, the risk of having a stroke [was] 62% higher, and that of developing angina [was] 73% higher.” Read More

CV death competing risk for older women with early-stage breast cancer

Death from CV causes is almost as much of a risk as death from cancer in older women with early-stage breast cancer, especially in those with prior CVD, according to new findings.

“[CV] death is an important competing risk for older women with early-stage breast cancer,” Husam Abdel-Qadir, MD, from the department of medicine at the University of Toronto, and colleagues wrote in JAMA Cardiology. “This finding mandates adequate attention to [CV] preventive therapy after diagnosis of breast cancer.” Read More