Understand the impact of cardiovascular disease on women to increase the effectiveness of your product launch.

It’s the leading cause of death of 51 percent of the U.S. population. In fact, 44 percent of American women live with a form of heart disease. Yet, little is well understood about women’s physical and emotional experiences as cardiology patients.

That gap in understanding represents an obligation and an opportunity for MedTech marketers. Helping to close the gap is a compelling mission that can differentiate your services and expand your market.

If your product addresses the physiological differences in women’s disease symptoms and progression, your customers are waiting. If your messaging responds to women’s perspectives, your audience is ready to listen. Whether you direct your product launch at consumers or cardiac specialists, understanding these differences will inform your strategy and increase your ability to improve the health and lives of women.

Differences in Physiology

“In cardiology, we’re still thinking about men more than we are about women,” cardiologist Martha Gulati, M.D., told the Commonwealth Fund in 2023. Gulati, associate director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, points out that medical devices “aren’t really being studied in women.”

Therefore, addressing women’s physiological differences in device design and application can be a compelling differentiator in product development and launches. Physiological aspects of cardiovascular health that are unique to women include:

• Atypical symptoms of myocardial infarction (e.g., jaw pain and nausea instead of chest pain)
• Pregnancy complications that can increase the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease
• Higher rates of metabolic syndrome, which includes risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.
• A lower threshold for troponin levels, the biomarker used to detect a heart attack
• A higher risk of ischemia and myocardial infarction without obstructive coronary disease (INOCA and MINOCA)
• A higher risk of diseases that mimic heart attacks, such as coronary spasms and dissections

As research continues to identify the physiological differences between women and men in terms of heart health, opportunities to target innovations and messaging specifically to women and their cardiologists are likely to expand.

Differences in the Patient Experience

Being diagnosed with a form of heart disease is stressful for every patient, regardless of gender. Yet, even stress can affect women’s cardiac function differently. Women under stress, for example, have decreased blood flow to the heart, while men under stress tend to have spikes in blood pressure and heart rate.

It is across the patient journey, however, that women’s lives differ in ways that can help you create campaigns that connect with women and their cardiologists. VIVO’s interviews with women with heart disease reveal that their private lives, along with well-established biases in physician behaviors, can affect their health and their perceptions of the quality of their healthcare.

Here’s what women told us.

1). Physicians don’t believe them.

Over and over, women say their road begins with physicians dismissing their concerns and symptoms:

“I don’t know why they dismiss females.They need to stop dissing our complaints and not just think, ‘They’re overreacting,’ versus ‘This is a legitimate complaint.’ I have a full life. I do not want to come and sit and wait an hour for you to see me for 10 minutes, dismiss what’s going on, and then I go about my day. I don’t have time for that. If I take the time to come in and see you, then something is wrong.”

“He’s the first doctor in 37 years to tell me something and make me know that, ‘No, you’re not crazy.’”

Awareness of this all-too-common aspect of women’s experiences can shape more effective messaging and campaign assets. Patient materials, for example, can educate women on atypical symptoms of heart disease and provide scripts for talking to their doctors about their symptoms, which can help women while building trust in your brand. Only 14 percent of cardiologists are women, so physician education initiatives can also benefit from greater awareness of atypical symptoms, as well as the frustration women feel when their concerns are dismissed.

2). They put their family’s needs before their own.

Women are often the primary caregivers of children and elders and may, by necessity, prioritize meeting the needs of others, compromising their own care or ability to attend medical appointments.

“My daughter has autism. Some days, I can barely get out of bed, but [I] still have to take care of my child. It’s physically draining.”

“I tend to have a lot of doctor’s appointments, several a month. I have three separate cardiologists. We have one vehicle. There would be days that sometimes we have to be at an appointment before our children even have to be in school.”

By considering the pressures of caretaking in women’s lives, you can support product differentiators, such as less frequent dosing schedules, transportable medical equipment, telehealth and satellite clinics, to make their days easier rather than harder.

3). A cardiac diagnosis can affect a woman’s mental health — and vice versa.

Beyond the stress of receiving a serious diagnosis, a woman may find her life upended by the fatigue that comes with heart disease. Less energy for work or hobbies — or even the loss of their self-image as an energetic, productive person — can lead to depression, women told VIVO in interviews.

“It’s really been taking a toll on my mental health. I do have a major depressive disorder and PTSD as well. It’s been really triggering for both of them. I’ve been having more PTSD episodes because I’m stressed out about my health and more depressive episodes where I’ll just start crying and feel like giving up. I don’t go out as much any more or hang out with friends. I don’t leave the house much anymore. People call me lazy because I don’t have much energy.”

The correlation between heart disease and depression in women is strong. Depression can impact a patient’s energy levels, making it difficult to exercise to prevent heart disease. And, after a heart attack, women are more likely than men to develop depression, which increases the risk of developing blood clots, having a repeat heart attack, or suffering a stroke. Awareness of the interplay between heart and brain health in women can help shape campaign messaging for consumers and healthcare professionals. Providing education for physicians to help them understand the correlations can support more holistic care plans that address risk factors for depression and disease.

Listen to women share their journeys as cardiology patients. Register for VIVO Pro to access recordings, transcripts, and more.