#HerHeartMatters: A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Women’s Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) can affect women differently than men and the impact on women has traditionally been underappreciated. Healthcare teams can do more together to improve a woman’s heart health journey. The leading cause of preventable death in women in Canada is heart disease. Novel and multi-disciplinary approaches to increase awareness about the unique and emerging risk factors, signs and symptoms, and the types of heart disease in women are urgently needed.

In this workshop, members of the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance (CWHHA) (a national alliance of providers, researchers, and women with lived experience whose aim is to enhance knowledge translation, education and awareness of critical issues in women’s cardiovascular health) will address the risk factors of CVD throughout a woman’s lifespan, the signs and symptoms most often presented by women, and the types of heart disease women are more likely to have compared to men.

The workshop will also highlight important initiatives being implemented across Canada to increase awareness and knowledge among healthcare teams, with actionable items participants can use in their day-to-day practice. A multi-disciplinary and intersectional lens will be used to present this emerging evidence grounded in science,  with ample opportunity for participant engagement and interactivity. Participants working with women across the lifespan will benefit from the information gained in this workshop.

The workshop will be presented as outlined below: 

• Women with lived experiences from across Canada will provide valuable patient perspectives in their ‘Heart Stories’ through a pre-recorded video.
• Nicole Tegg will give an overview of unique and emerging risk factors across a woman’s lifespan, including menarche,  pregnancy, perimenopausal and menopausal risk factors, cancer diagnosis and treatment, polycystic ovary syndrome, and rheumatic autoimmune diseases.
• Dr. Monica Parry will highlight recent guidelines and suggest a multi-disciplinary and intersectional approach to the signs and symptoms of heart disease in women.
• Dr. Sharon Mulvagh will describe the types of heart disease women are more likely to have compared to men.
• Nazli Parast and Patrice Lindsay will provide insight into important Canadian initiatives and projects targeting women’s heart health.
• Finally, Laura Avelar and Jennifer Harris will highlight new developments in the management of women’s heart health and actionable items for healthcare teams working in both acute care and rehabilitation.

References:

• Mulvagh SL, Mullen KA, Nerenberg KA, et al., The Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance Atlas on the Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Women – Chapter 4: Sex- and Gender-Unique Disparities: CVD Across the Lifespan of a Woman. CJC Open. 2021 Sep 25;4(2):115-132.
• Gulati M, et al. 2021 AHA/ACC/ASE/CHEST/SAEM/SCCT/SCMR Guideline for the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Chest Pain: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. JACC. 2021 Nov;78(22):e187-e285.
• King-Shier K, et al. Acute coronary syndromes presentations and care outcomes in white, South Asian and Chinese patients: a cohort study. BMJ Open. 2019;9:e022479.
• Bauer, G. Meet the Methods series: Quantitative intersectional study design and primary data collection. CIHR. 2021 Feb;3(1).
• Norris CM, et al. State of the Science in Women’s Cardiovascular Disease: A Canadian Perspective on the Influence of Sex and Gender. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Feb 17;9(4):e015634.
• Tamis-Holland et al., Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of Patients With Myocardial Infarction in the Absence of Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease. A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2019 April 30;139(18):e891-e908.
• Pacheco C, et al. The Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance Atlas on the Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Women — Chapter 5: Sex- and Gender-Unique Manifestations of Cardiovascular Disease. CJC Open. 2021 Nov 23;4(3):243-262.
• Ghisi, G.LM., et al. Women-Focused Cardiovascular Rehabilitation: An International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Clinical Practice Guideline∗. Canadian Journal of Cardiology. 2022;38(12):1786-1798.
• Mamataz T, Grace S, et al., Nature, availability, and utilization of women-focused cardiac rehabilitation: a systematic review. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders. 2021 Sept 23;21:459.