Most Important Outcomes Research Papers on Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women has been historically understudied. For many years, heart disease had been thought to be primarily a “man’s disease.” Consequently, women have been significantly under-represented in longitudinal studies of disease history and in clinical trials. High-quality data from women at the extremes of age, with multiple co-morbidities, and from racial and ethnic minorities have been particularly rare. In order to increase awareness of cardiovascular prevention among women, in 1999 the American Heart Association (AHA) published its first women-specific clinical recommendations for the prevention of CVD.1 In 2004, the AHA and multiple other collaborating organizations subsequently sponsored “Evidence-Based Guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women,” which underwent updates in 2007 and 2011. As a result of these and other related initiatives, the rate of public awareness of CVD as the leading cause of death among US women has increased from 30% in 1997 to 54% in 2009.2 CVD-associated death among US women has declined significantly over this time period.3,4 Yet substantial work still needs to be done to improve women’s cardiovascular health. CVD remains the number one killer among women.4 As the obesity epidemic continues, we are actually finding increases in coronary heart disease (CHD) death among young women 35 to 54 years of age.2 Morbidity and mortality from stroke and hypertension remain high.4 In addition, substantial outcomes disparities continue for women from racial and ethnic minorities.4 We have therefore dedicated our topic summaries in this issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes to CVD in women. We have included only those studies where authors provided a convincing a priori reason to study a particular disease process or clinical intervention in women and reported primary endpoints that were sex-specific. We have included articles on the representation of women …

[1]  Harlan M Krumholz,et al.  Variation in Recovery: Role of Gender on Outcomes of Young AMI Patients (VIRGO) Study Design , 2010, Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes.

[2]  N. Schneiderman,et al.  Effects of treating depression and low perceived social support on clinical events after myocardial infarction: the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease Patients (ENRICHD) Randomized Trial. , 2003, JAMA.

[3]  J. Berger,et al.  Influence of sex on in-hospital outcomes and long-term survival after contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention. , 2006, American heart journal.

[4]  Eiran Z. Gorodeski,et al.  Should Women Receive Left Ventricular Assist Device Support?: Findings From INTERMACS , 2012, Circulation. Heart failure.

[5]  Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Coronary Stenting in Women Versus Men Results From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Cohort , 2012 .

[6]  L. Bero,et al.  Gender Bias in Studies for Food and Drug Administration Premarket Approval of Cardiovascular Devices , 2011, Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes.

[7]  Deepak L. Bhatt,et al.  Quality of Care and Outcomes in Women Hospitalized for Heart Failure , 2011, Circulation. Heart failure.

[8]  Harlan M Krumholz,et al.  Representation of the elderly, women, and minorities in heart failure clinical trials. , 2002, Archives of internal medicine.

[9]  A. LaCroix,et al.  Lasofoxifene in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. , 2010, The New England journal of medicine.

[10]  J. Blumenthal,et al.  Impact of psychological factors on the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and implications for therapy. , 1999, Circulation.

[11]  C. Cannon,et al.  Benefit of Intensive Statin Therapy in Women: Results From PROVE IT-TIMI 22 , 2011, Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes.

[12]  Jennifer G. Robinson,et al.  Evaluation of the American Heart Association Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Guideline for Women , 2010, Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes.

[13]  A. Kastrati,et al.  Differences in prognostic factors and outcomes between women and men undergoing coronary artery stenting. , 2000, JAMA.

[14]  Vl Roger,et al.  American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics-2011 update : a report from the American Heart Association , 2011 .

[15]  Julia A. Critchley,et al.  Explaining the Decrease in U.S. Deaths from Coronary Disease, 1980–2000 , 2004 .

[16]  V. Helgeson,et al.  Sex Differences in Coping Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review and an Examination of Relative Coping , 2002 .

[17]  Julie Taylor,et al.  Women's Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise , 2011 .

[18]  L. Newby,et al.  Gender disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes: large-scale observations from the CRUSADE (Can Rapid Risk Stratification of Unstable Angina Patients Suppress Adverse Outcomes With Early Implementation of the American College of Cardiology/Ameri , 2005, Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

[19]  Monique L. Anderson,et al.  Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Coronary Stenting in Women Versus Men: Results From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Cohort , 2012, Circulation.

[20]  S. Oparil,et al.  Guide to Preventive Cardiology for Women , 1999 .

[21]  A. Jacobs,et al.  Improved outcomes for women undergoing contemporary percutaneous coronary intervention: a report from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Dynamic registry. , 2002, Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

[22]  Kevin L. Thomas,et al.  Racial disparity in the utilization of implantable-cardioverter defibrillators among patients with prior myocardial infarction and an ejection fraction of , 2007, The American journal of cardiology.

[23]  M. Chiariello,et al.  Impact of gender in primary prevention of coronary heart disease with statin therapy: a meta-analysis. , 2010, International journal of cardiology.

[24]  R. McKelvie,et al.  Sex Differences in Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes in Elderly Patients With Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction: The Irbesartan in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction (I-PRESERVE) Trial , 2012, Circulation. Heart failure.

[25]  C. White,et al.  The impact of gender on survival amongst patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators for primary prevention against sudden cardiac death , 2006, Journal of internal medicine.

[26]  S. Grundy.  Should women be offered cholesterol lowering drugs to prevent cardiovascular disease? Yes , 2007, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[27]  I. Palacios,et al.  Sex Differences in Medical Care and Early Death After Acute Myocardial Infarction , 2008, Circulation.

[28]  C. Yancy,et al.  Sex and racial differences in the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators among patients hospitalized with heart failure. , 2007, JAMA.

[29]  Ling Zheng,et al.  Sex-specific trends in midlife coronary heart disease risk and prevalence. , 2009, Archives of internal medicine.

[30]  Timothy J. Strauman,et al.  Social Support and Coronary Heart Disease: Epidemiologic Evidence and Implications for Treatment , 2005, Psychosomatic medicine.

[31]  I. Piña,et al.  Is it important to examine gender differences in the epidemiology and outcome of severe heart failure? , 2004, The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.

[32]  H. Ghanbari,et al.  Effectiveness of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in women with advanced heart failure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. , 2009, Archives of internal medicine.

[33]  L. Newby,et al.  Twelve-Year Follow-Up of American Women's Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Barriers to Heart Health , 2010, Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes.

[34]  J. Saver,et al.  A midlife stroke surge among women in the United States , 2007, Neurology.

[35]  Alan S. Go,et al.  Population trends in the incidence and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction. , 2010, The New England journal of medicine.

[36]  Representation of Women in Randomized Clinical Trials of Cardiovascular Disease Prevention , 2010, Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes.

[37]  D. Levy,et al.  Congestive heart failure in subjects with normal versus reduced left ventricular ejection fraction: prevalence and mortality in a population-based cohort. , 1999, Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

[38]  A. LaCroix,et al.  Lasofoxifene and Cardiovascular Events in Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis: Five-Year Results From the Postmenopausal Evaluation and Risk Reduction With Lasofoxifene (PEARL) Trial , 2010, Circulation.

[39]  D. Mozaffarian,et al.  Heart disease and stroke statistics--2012 update: a report from the American Heart Association. , 2012, Circulation.

[40]  K. Swedberg,et al.  Important Differences in Mode of Death Between Men and Women With Heart Failure Who Would Qualify for a Primary Prevention Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator , 2012, Circulation.

[41]  D. Preen,et al.  Age- and Sex-Specific Trends in the Incidence of Hospitalized Acute Coronary Syndromes in Western Australia , 2011, Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes.

[42]  S. Normand,et al.  Recent Declines in Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction for Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries: Progress and Continuing Challenges , 2010, Circulation.

[43]  Kevin L. Thomas,et al.  Trends in Use of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Therapy Among Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure: Have the Previously Observed Sex and Racial Disparities Changed Over Time? , 2012, Circulation.

[44]  B. Borlaug,et al.  Why are women more likely than men to develop heart failure with preserved ejection fraction? , 2011, Current opinion in cardiology.

[45]  M. Kendrick.  Should women be offered cholesterol lowering drugs to prevent cardiovascular disease? No , 2007, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[46]  I. Piña,et al.  Heart Failure in Women , 2012, Clinical cardiology.

[47]  Haiqun Lin,et al.  The Role of Social Support in Health Status and Depressive Symptoms After Acute Myocardial Infarction: Evidence for a Stronger Relationship Among Women , 2010, Circulation. Cardiovascular quality and outcomes.

[48]  M. Roe,et al.  Gender differences among patients with acute coronary syndromes undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in the American College of Cardiology-National Cardiovascular Data Registry (ACC-NCDR). , 2009, American heart journal.

[49]  D. Mozaffarian,et al.  Heart disease and stroke statistics--2011 update: a report from the American Heart Association. , 2011, Circulation.

[50]  K. Alexander,et al.  Sex Differences in Major Bleeding With Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Inhibitors: Results From the CRUSADE (Can Rapid Risk Stratification of Unstable Angina Patients Suppress Adverse Outcomes With Early Implementation of the ACC/AHA Guidelines) Initiative , 2006, Circulation.

[51]  L. Tavazzi,et al.  Gender Differences in the Management and Clinical Outcome of Stable Angina , 2006, Circulation.

[52]  J. Gardin,et al.  Importance of heart failure with preserved systolic function in patients ≥65 years of age , 2001 .

[53]  Jennifer G. Robinson,et al.  Comparison of the Framingham and Reynolds Risk Scores for Global Cardiovascular Risk Prediction in the Multiethnic Women's Health Initiative , 2012, Circulation.

[54]  K. Schulman,et al.  Sex differences in the use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators for primary and secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death. , 2007, JAMA.

[55]  P. Kistler,et al.  Myocardial fibrosis predicts appropriate device therapy in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death. , 2011, Journal of the American College of Cardiology.