Why the Top Cause of Death for Women Has Been Ignored

Experts at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai who have studied progress made over decades of research say there’s still a long way to go before medical science fully understands how heart disease is different in women than men.

American College of Cardiology Honors Women’s Heart Disease Pioneer

Noel Bairey Merz, MD, professor of cardiology and the director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center in the Smidt Heart Institute, will receive the 2023 Master of the ACC Award from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in honor of her pioneering contributions to the cardiovascular profession.

Sudden Cardiac Death Often A Woman’s First Sign of Heart Disease

New research from the Center for Cardiac Arrest Prevention at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai shows that rates of sudden cardiac arrest are rising following decades of a downward trend. While this disturbing uptick was observed in both sexes, in women the increase was mostly among those whose sudden cardiac arrest was the first manifestation of heart disease. In men, the increase was mostly among those with known heart disease.

Cleveland Clinic Survey: Most Americans Don’t know Heart Disease Is Leading Cause of Death in Women

A Cleveland Clinic survey finds that although heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, 68% of Americans do not know it’s the foremost killer of women.

According to the survey, many Americans incorrectly thought breast cancer was the leading cause of death in women, with men especially likely to think this (44% vs. 33%). Among Millennials, 80% could not identify heart disease as the leading cause of death in women. Heart disease accounts for one in every four deaths in the U.S.

Study: Women’s Blood Vessels Age Faster Than Men’s

Many medical experts have long believed that women simply ‘catch up’ to men in terms of their cardiovascular risk, but new research shows for the first time that women’s blood vessels age at a faster rate than men’s. The findings could help to explain why women tend to develop different types of cardiovascular disease and with different timing than men.