International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences. 29/Feb/2024;37:e20230169.

Cardiovascular Disease in Latin American Women Gaps and opportunities

Karen Alexandra Dueñas-Criado , Angela Herrara Peña, Maria Juliana Rodriguez-González , Astrid Fajardo

DOI: 10.36660/ijcs.20230169

This Review Article is referred by the Editorial "How Can We Expand Knowledge to Improve Women’s Cardiovascular Health in Latin America?".

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in women. This review will address the known disparities in cardiovascular care concerning diagnosing and treating of heart disease in Latin American (LA) women. Gender-specific differences regarding the incidence, treatment, and outcomes of common cardiovascular pathology are increasingly recognized. Today, we identify that women have cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs), specifying the traditional, emerging, unique, or sex-specific determinants and the social and biological determinants that play a leading role in the prevention of CVD. The purpose of this article is to review the literature on cardiovascular disease in LA women, focusing on ischemic heart disease (IHD), valve disease (VD), heart failure, and cardiac rehabilitation (CR), where disparities continue to affect outcomes. Understanding the unique cardiovascular risk profile and barriers to optimal treatment outcomes in women is imperative to eliminate the current disparities in CVD.