WORLD LEADING EXPERTS GATHER TO TACKLE No.1 KILLER OF WOMEN AT WORLD CONGRESS OF CARDIOLOGY

Facts on cardiovascular disease


By SITEMBILE SIWAWA

WORLD leading experts met at the world congress of cardiology in Melbourne, Australia during the week with a call to end discrimination against women when it comes to management and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

The congress started sittings on the 4 and closed on the 7 of May.

Director of cardiovascular health programmes at World Heart Foundation Julie Anne Mitchell said that despite the fact that half of 17.3 million deaths from cardiovascular disease each year happen in females, women are still discriminated.

Ms Mitchell said women are more likely than men to be under-diagnosed and under-treated mostly because the presentation, progression and outcomes of the disease are different and less understood in women than men.

She said “although there has been progress in raising awareness about cardiovascular in women and studying the specifics of the disease, the gap is still too wide.”

This is contained in a statement made available to Femail during the week by spokesperson for gender discrimination in cardiovascular treatment Karen Silwa.

Ms Mitchell said the leading experts at the congress are further calling for research, better information for healthcare professionals and women and tailor made treatments to bridge this gap.

“To celebrate ‘wear red day’ for women, new research is presented on women’s heart health alongside examples of work being undertaken in several countries to improve recognition, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease,” she said.

And she has since called on women to be wary that cardiovascular disease is a number one killer.