Research on the Cardiovascular Health of Women (Or the Lack Thereof)
Abstract
Females are being inaccurately underrepresented in clinical studies of medications for cardiovascular disease. Even though about half of patients with cardiovascular disease in America are women, they only make up about 1/3 of the patients included in clinical studies for cardiac medications. Therefore, women needlessly experience negative side effects that could be prevented with cardiac medications specifically for women. Furthermore, females' hearts are fundamentally different than males' hearts and therefore, require different medications for their specific needs. Thus, pharmaceutical companies must develop cardiac medications tailored specifically for womens' hearts and biological needs in order to prevent unnecessary deaths due to underlying gender descrimination.