Cardiovascular Disease in Women

About the topic

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women worldwide, yet it remains under-recognised as a major health challenge. Sex-specific risk factors, differences in disease presentation, and disparities in diagnosis and treatment contribute to poorer outcomes for women across the spectrum of cardiovascular conditions.

Recent evidence highlights the significance of female-specific conditions, pregnancy-related cardiovascular risk, and the value of a life-course approach to women’s cardiovascular health. These insights support more personalised prevention, earlier recognition, and improved risk stratification for women.

This Focus collection is designed to help cardiovascular clinicians enhance awareness, deepen knowledge, and apply the latest evidence to improve cardiovascular health for women.

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Webinars

Webinar

Prevention in women: CAD, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and risk factors across the lifespan

20 May 2026 - 18:00

Cardiovascular Disease in Women

May 2026

About the topic

Content selected by

Professor Ronen Beeri

Professor Maria Generosa Crespo-Leiro

Associate Professor Maria Rubini Gimenez

Associate Professor Johann Wojta

Doctor Carolina Ortiz Cortes

Webinars

Prevention in women: CAD, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and risk factors across the lifespan

Interventions in women: interventional cardiology meets electrophysiology - pre-, peri-, and post-procedural considerations

Resources available to all

Essentials

Guidelines

Management of heart failure in women.

Pregnancy and the heart: essential knowledge.

Global burden of cardiovascular disease in women; 20/20 vision for 2030: report of The Lancet commission

Guidelines in Practice: 2022 ESC/ERS Guidelines on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension

Heart-brain interactions: sex differences and impact on cognition

2025 ESC Guidelines for the Management of Cardiovascular Disease and Pregnancy

Advancing women's cardiovascular health: global strategies and innovations

Cardiovascular prevention in women: should it be different?

Made Easy Series - Gender disparities

Imaging coronary artery disease in women vs. men

2025 ESC Guidelines for the management of cardiovascular disease and pregnancy Developed by the task force on the management of cardiovascular disease and pregnancy of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)<br /><em>Endorsed by the European Society of Gynecology (ESG)</em>

Women, lipids, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: a call to action from the European Atherosclerosis Society

Cardiovascular health after menopause transition, pregnancy disorders, and other gynaecologic conditions: a consensus document from European cardiologists, gynaecologists, and endocrinologists

Differences in presentation, diagnosis and management of heart failure in women. A scientific statement of the Heart Failure Association of the ESC

Key supporting evidence

Venous thromboembolism risk stratification, sex-related differences in dual antiplatelet therapy, and new targets for antithrombotic treatment

Sex differences in dual antiplatelet therapy de-escalation strategies after percutaneous coronary intervention: a network meta-analysis

Antithrombotic drugs for acute coronary syndromes in women: sex-adjusted treatment and female representation in randomised clinical trials. A clinical consensus statement of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) and the ESC Working Group on Thrombosis

Burden of risk factors in women and men with unrecognized myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis <sup> </sup>

Senescent obesity signature in breast cancer: a paradigm of reverse cardio-oncology

Revascularization in women with stable severe CAD: revisiting the evidence, redefining priorities

Cardiovascular disease outcomes: does physician’s sex matter?

Transcatheter vs. surgical aortic valve replacement in women: the RHEIA trial

Relevant textbook chapters

Mayo Clinic Cardiology: Concise Textbook (5 edn) - Heart Disease in Women

Dig Deeper

Exclusively for members

In practice

Prevention in women: CAD, atrial fibrillation, heart failure and risk factors across the lifespan

Addressing undertreatment in aortic valve disease: bridging the gap for women and the elderly

Women's heart health: what you need to know to help your female patients care for themselves better

Episode 11: Among the topics: Artificial intelligence in cardiology - Hypertension and anti-hypertensive therapy in women

Episode 18: Heart disease risk: Framingham Heart Study insights - Sudden death in female athletes

Familial hypercholesterolaemia: need for equitable treatment in women and men

Pregnancy outcomes in women with heart disease: how to improve?

Women and cardiac rehabilitation: Moving beyond barriers to solutions?

Insights from physiology applied to interpretation of supranormal ejection fraction in women

Interface with the specialists

Timing, clustering, mortality, sex differences of CVD

Management of pregnant women with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and with adverse pregnancy outcome

Cardiovascular prevention in women: should it be different?

Advancing women's cardiovascular health: global strategies and innovations

Does type 2 diabetes confer higher relative rates of cardiovascular events in women compared with men?

Acute coronary syndrome in women

Advances in cardiovascular imaging: Cardiovascular multimodality imaging in women

Women and cardiac rehabilitation: Moving beyond barriers to solutions?

Antithrombotic drugs for acute coronary syndromes in women: sex-adjusted treatment and female representation in randomised clinical trials. A clinical consensus statement of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI) and the ESC Working Group on Thrombosis

Pioneers' viewpoint

Role of MMI in the diagnosis and prognosis of myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA) disease (in collaboration with the EACVI Task Force of the Women in CV Imaging)

Cardiac emergencies in women with a focus on cardiogenic shock (CS) and sudden death (SD)

Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy in Women 2022

Episode 18: Genetic testing in dilated cardiomyopathy - Gut microbiome and heart disease

Does type 2 diabetes confer higher relative rates of cardiovascular events in women compared with men?

Test yourself - eLearning courses

2025 ESC Guidelines for the Management of Cardiovascular Disease and Pregnancy

ESC Pocket Guidelines Mobile App