Gender disparaties in cardiovascular health
In the week leading up to International Women’s Day of 2025, the European Parliament became the stage for an important conversation on gender disparities in cardiovascular health.
Hosted by MEP Elena Nevado del Campo in collaboration with the ESC and held on 5 March, the event brought together policymakers, medical experts, patient advocates, and ESC volunteers - including Assoc. Prof. Maria Rubini, Assoc. Prof. Elena Arbelo, and Prof. David Adlam - to shine a light on a silent crisis: CVD is the leading cause of death among women in the EU, responsible for more deaths than all cancers combined.
Despite medical progress, womencontinue to face higher mortality rates and worse outcomes after acute cardiovascular events compared to men.
Symptoms often differ and go unrecognised, clinical trials underrepresent women, and treatment guidelines remain largely male-centered. Speakers called for urgent action to close these gaps by integrating a gender dimension into the upcoming EU Cardiovascular Health Plan and the revamped EU Gender Equality Strategy.
Key recommendations included improving medical training and clinical guidelines to address sex-specific risks, enhancing early detection and screening, investing in research and gender-disaggregated data, and promoting awareness campaigns to educate both women andhealthcare professionals. The European Health Data Space and AI were also highlighted as transformative tools to reduce bias and improve prevention.
The message was clear: to achieve cardiovascular health for all, Europe must act now. This event marked an important step toward ensuring women’s needs are reflected in research, policy, and care, whilst turning insights into real change.
More insights into the speakers’ intervention can be found in the article available here.