Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant threat to women’s health, with heart failure (HF) being a major contributor to this risk. Despite the overall lifetime risk of HF being comparable between men and women, women have better survival rates but worse quality of life. Moreover, women are more likely to have HF with preserved ejection fraction, which is often overlooked and underdiagnosed.
Understanding the Gender Differences in Heart Failure
The risk of HF is similar between men and women, but women tend to have better survival rates. This may be attributed to differences in the underlying causes of HF, such as a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in women. Additionally, women are more likely to develop HF with preserved ejection fraction, which is a subtype of HF that is often challenging to diagnose and manage.
Overlooked and Underdiagnosed Heart Failure in Women
HF with preserved ejection fraction is a condition where the heart’s ability to fill with blood is impaired, but the ability to pump blood out of the heart is preserved. This type of HF is more common in women and can be challenging to diagnose, as the symptoms may be less pronounced or overlap with other conditions. As a result, HF with preserved ejection fraction is often overlooked and underdiagnosed in women, leading to delays in appropriate treatment and management.