As the leading UK and Ireland charity dedicated to aortic dissection, we are calling on the thousands of people who have joined our community to participate in a vital research effort. We are proud to be a partner in the King’s College research priorities for cardiovascular disease in women. We are urging every person affected by cardiovascular and aortic disease to share their experiences and help shape the future of cardiovascular research for women. Your views and opinions will help identify and prioritise the unanswered questions that matter most to patients, carers and clinicians.
This project seeks to tackle the longstanding gender disparities that have affected the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease in women. The current evidence shows that women are consistently underdiagnosed, underrepresented in research and undertreated, which has real, life-altering consequences.
Women Are Underdiagnosed
One of the most persistent issues facing women with cardiovascular and aortic disease is delayed or missed diagnosis. Many symptoms in women do not match the classic presentation seen in men. Women may report fatigue, nausea, back or jaw pain, or breathlessness, rather than crushing chest pain. These subtle signs are often normalised or dismissed by both patients and clinicians, mistaken for anxiety, menopause or musculoskeletal discomfort.
There remains a lower index of clinical suspicion when it comes to women and aortic dissection. Cardiovascular conditions continue to be perceived, wrongly, as predominantly male. This perception means many women are not investigated quickly enough. Diagnostic tools like ECG interpretation or blood markers such as troponin have been calibrated around male physiology, making it more likely for women’s symptoms to be missed or misinterpreted.
Women also often delay seeking help. The reasons are complex but include caring responsibilities, employment obligations and a lack of awareness that their symptoms could be serious. By the time many women present to healthcare services, their disease may be more advanced, making treatment outcomes poorer.
Women Are Underrepresented
Despite being over half of those living with cardiovascular disease, women account for less than a third of participants in cardiovascular research. This underrepresentation has roots in decades of exclusion from clinical trials, particularly among women of childbearing age. Research studies have historically defaulted to male participants, assuming findings could be broadly applied across sexes.
Even when women are included in studies, the sample sizes are often too small to draw meaningful conclusions. Conditions that disproportionately affect women, or affect them differently, are often overlooked in research design. This limits the ability of clinicians to make evidence-based decisions tailored to women’s needs.
In the past, there has also been a lack of targeted funding for female-focused cardiovascular research. Without dedicated resources, the critical gaps in knowledge around risk factors, treatment responses and outcomes in women persist.
Women Are Undertreated
A lack of early diagnosis often results in delayed treatment for women, who may present with more advanced disease by the time they reach emergency care. But even when diagnosis is made, women are less likely to receive the full range of recommended treatments. They are less frequently referred to specialists or offered cardiac rehabilitation.
Research suggests that treatment pathways are not always adapted to women. Care plans often do not account for social factors such as caregiving roles or financial constraints. Medications are often dosed based on male models, which can increase the likelihood of adverse effects and reduce adherence.
These disparities are not the result of systems and structures that were not designed with women in mind. Changing this requires a coordinated, evidence-based response, starting with identifying the right research priorities.
Inequality Within Inequality
Women from ethnic minority communities or lower socioeconomic backgrounds often face compounded barriers to diagnosis and care. The combination of gender, race and socioeconomic status can amplify disparities and make access to appropriate cardiovascular treatment even more difficult.
Awareness remains low among both patients and professionals. Too often, cardiovascular risk in women is underestimated by women themselves and by those treating them. This contributes to later diagnoses and poorer outcomes.
Share Your Voice
By gathering insights from patients, carers and healthcare professionals across the UK and Ireland, the Women and Cardiovascular Disease PSP will identify the top ten unanswered research questions in women’s heart health.
The scope is wide-ranging, covering acquired cardiovascular conditions such as heart failure, valve disease, coronary artery disease, aortic disease and arrhythmias. It includes women with congenital heart conditions, pregnancy-related cardiac issues, frailty-related cardiac problems and ongoing effects of cancer treatment.
This is your opportunity to influence the future of cardiovascular care for women. As a community affected by aortic disease, your voice matters. The questions you raise can help ensure that future research is inclusive and responsive to the realities of women’s lives.
The survey is open to all adults across the UK and Ireland with lived or professional experience of cardiovascular disease in women.
Let us make sure that women are no longer overlooked in research, sidelined in diagnosis, or left behind in treatment.
