Despite efforts in recent years to change perceptions, heart disease is still largely seen as only a men’s health concern. In a recent study, only 56 percent of women knew that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States, when in fact, heart disease and stroke kill more women than all types of cancer—combined—claiming the lives of one out of every three women.
So why has cardiac disease proved so difficult? First, we don’t know as much about heart disease in women as we do in men, because women have historically been vastly underrepresented in clinical trials (making up only about 20 percent) and even when they are included, the scientists often do not sort out how their reaction might be different from men’s.
