AHA News: Women With Heart Failure Less Likely to Get Heart Pump Device

FRIDAY, Sept. 13, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- Women are less likely than men to receive a mechanical heart pump that is becoming the norm for people with advanced heart failure, according to new research.

The study, published Friday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Heart Failure, took a deeper look at long-standing differences in how women are treated for heart failure, a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen. Heart failure affects 6.5 million Americans, a number projected to rise to 9 million by 2030.

40-Year Study Sees Steady Rise in Pregnant Women's Blood Pressure

MONDAY, Sept. 9, 2019 -- Over the past four decades, the U.S. has seen a sharp rise in the number of pregnant women with high blood pressure, new research reveals.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from about 151 million hospitalizations between 1970 and 2010 to determine the rates of chronic high blood pressure in pregnant women aged 15 to 49.

AHA News: Age Could Be Key to Women's Worse Quality of Life Post-Stroke

THURSDAY, Aug. 15, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- After a stroke, women are known to have a worse health-related quality of life than men, both in the short term and long term. Now a study gives some insight into why, and what can be done to alter the aftermath.

The findings, published Thursday in the journal Stroke, suggest women have a lower post-stroke quality of life because they are older at the time of a stroke, have more severe strokes, are in worse health beforehand, and are more likely to develop depression afterward. Quality of life measures included mobility, self-care, independent living, psychological well-being and social relationships.

AHA News: Why Do Women Get Statins Less Frequently Than Men?

MONDAY, Aug. 19, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- Women are less likely than men to be treated with cholesterol-lowering statins – or get them prescribed at guideline-recommended intensity levels when they do, according to a new study that also looked at reasons behind the discrepancies.

Statins help reduce the risk of heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular events by lowering high cholesterol levels. But women historically have received less aggressive treatment than men when it comes to cholesterol management.

Diabetes Raises Heart Failure Risk More in Women Than Men

FRIDAY, July 19, 2019 -- Diabetes brings with it a variety of long-term complications, but at least one of those -- heart failure -- is a bigger threat to women than men, new research suggests.

The risk difference was even more pronounced for women with type 1 diabetes.

AHA News: Early Pregnancy May Be a Prime Time to Promote Heart Health

TUESDAY, July 23, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- Improving cardiovascular health during the early stages of pregnancy can lead not only to a healthier pregnancy, it also can greatly improve a woman's long-term heart health, new research shows.

The findings, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, underscore the importance of entering pregnancy in optimal health. They also suggest an opportunity for health care providers to guide women toward healthy lifestyle changes during their childbearing years.