How estrogen helps protect women from high blood pressure

New research sheds light on why premenopausal women face lower hypertension risk and what that means for treatment after menopause

University of Waterloo

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High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects more than one billion people worldwide and is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. For decades, researchers have observed that premenopausal women are less likely to develop high blood pressure than men or postmenopausal women. Researchers have known for years that estrogen is the deciding factor, but exactly how it offers this protection has remained unclear.  

New research from the University of Waterloo helps answer that question. 

Using a mathematical model of the cardiovascular and kidney systems, Waterloo researchers have identified which of estrogen’s many effects play the biggest role in protecting against hypertension. Their findings suggest that estrogen’s ability to relax and widen blood vessels, known as vasodilation, is the key factor.  

The research also points to more effective treatment options for women after menopause, when estrogen levels naturally decline.  

“Estrogen is often thought of only in terms of reproductive health, but it plays a much broader role in how the body functions,” said Anita Layton, Canada 150 Research Chair Laureate in Mathematical Biology and Medicine and professor of Applied Mathematics. “It affects how blood vessels respond, how the kidneys regulate fluids and how different systems communicate with one another. What we found is that its impact on blood vessels is especially important for regulating blood pressure.”  

Layton’s team has worked for years on their award-winning mathematical model of women’s kidneys and the cardiovascular system. This model allows far more flexibility and precision than scientists would have working in a lab or with human subjects. “We can turn on one effect, then another, and see exactly how each one affects the body,” Layton said. While no mathematical model is perfect, Layton’s model is based on existing laboratory data and its results are continually validated when compared to real-world observations, suggesting its accuracy and reliability.  

Between the two popular anti-hypertensive drugs, the model predicted that angiotensin receptor blockers will be more effective than angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in treating women with hypertension, even after their estrogen levels decline post-menopause.  

“For too long, women’s health, especially older women’s health, has been overlooked by medicine,” Layton said. “Understanding how age and sex affect the body and, therefore, treatment, is an equity issue.”  

The research reflects the University of Waterloo’s Health Futures focus, bringing together experts in mathematics, engineering and health sciences to develop more equitable, technology-enabled approaches to improving health outcomes. 

The research, “Modulation of blood pressure by estrogen: A modeling analysis,” appears in Math Biosci.  

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DOI

10.1016/j.mbs.2025.109610 

Menopause at work: Germany starts breaking the taboo

Issued on: 08/03/2026 

VIDEO 05:04 min

While Germany faces a persistent shortage of skilled workers, one factor remains largely ignored: the impact of perimenopause. At this pivotal stage of their careers, many experienced women reduce their hours or leave the workforce because their needs are rarely recognised or supported. According to a survey, one in 10 women has left – or plans to leave – work due to menopause symptoms, while one in four reduces her working hours.

Fatigue, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating can directly affect productivity, leading to sick leave or job changes. The cost to the German economy is estimated at up to €9.4 billion a year. Now, faced with labour shortages, more companies are beginning to adapt – helping to break one of the last taboos affecting women at work.

Our Berlin correspondents report.

BY:

Nick HOLDSWORTH

Anne MAILLIET

Caroline DU BLED

Willy MAHLER

Raphael KOMINIS

  

Why women are disappearing from Europe’s tech workforce

Copyright Canva

By Anna Desmarais

Published on 08/03/2026 -EURONEWS

Workplace culture is the biggest reason why women are leaving their tech jobs, a new report shows.

Women make up less than one in five tech workers in Europe, according to a new report that warns the gender gap could widen even further without action, especially in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

In 2025, women accounted for 19 percent of employees in core tech roles across Europe, down 3 percent from the year before, according to a new report by consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

The decline suggests that efforts to address the persistent lack of representation have failed to make meaningful progress, the report said.

“As AI reshapes roles and value creation in tech, existing gender gaps could widen without deliberate action,” the report said.

The warning comes as organisations in the United States and Europe have begun scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that, throughout much of the 2010s, encouraged women to enter traditionally male-dominated fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Where does the gender gap start?

The research analysed 4 million LinkedIn profiles in tech roles across the European Union and combined them with data from the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development and workforce data from AI hiring platform Findem.

Women start to drop off from tech-adjacent fields almost immediately after leaving school, the report found. Girls slightly outperform boys in STEM topics in primary and secondary school, but only 32 percent of all female students decide to enrol in a tech-related bachelor’s degree.

Among those who pursue advanced education, women are slightly more likely than men to get a PhD in a STEM field. Yet, only 19 percent of all tech workers are women.

Relate

Another big hurdle for women is career progression. Women’s participation in the tech labour force drops by up to 18 percentage points before they reach managerial roles, leaving women with just 13 percent of management positions in tech companies.

These early losses “compound the gender gap at the leadership level,” the report continued, since only 8 percent of executive or corporate roles are held by women.

The divide is sharper in some tech fields than others. Software companies have a 15 percentage-point gap between the number of women with entry-level jobs and those who eventually reach corporate leadership.

Concentrated in fewer roles​

Women are also clustered in a narrow set of tech jobs that are being hit with layoffs.

They make up 39 percent of employees in product management and 54 percent in design. However, the report notes these positions rarely lead to executive leadership and represent a small portion of Europe’s overall tech force.

Even in fields where women are concentrated, they often have limited influence over the direction, governance and design of the broader tech sector, the report found.

Women are also underrepresented in AI, the report warned. Men are capturing a larger share of entry-level jobs in AI, data, and analytics.

Related

• Women in tech at Web Summit: Next decade's mission is closing the gap

This trend is concerning during the AI boom, the report said, because it risks a “narrowing of perspectives at precisely the levels at which bias, accountability and societal impact must be addressed.”

The report found that women are also struggling with the tech gender gap in countries that tend to be stronger on gender equality on average, such as Finland and Sweden. Women represent 36 percent and 23 percent of tech workers, respectively.

Why women leave tech

Workplace culture is the main reason why women leave their tech jobs, the report found.

McKinsey’s survey said just under half of women experienced sexism or bias in the past year, while 82 percent said they had to prove themselves more than their male colleagues.

That’s because women often feel isolated in their roles, since they are often the ‘only one’ in the room, the report continued.

Women are also more likely than men to take on additional unpaid work at their jobs, such as resolving team conflicts or coordinating events, because they are considered “the social glue” of their teams.

On average, a woman takes on 200 hours a year of this type of “office housework,” the report found.​

Policies designed to support parents, such as flexible or remote work arrangements, can also slow career progression for some women, the report found.

How companies can close the gap

Improving workplace culture is the most effective way to reduce the gender gap, because it is the strongest predictor of whether women remain in tech roles, the report said.

Companies should set clear representation targets and review them quarterly, the report urged.

It also suggests tying career advancement decisions to an individual’s output, which will “help level the playing field” for women.

Mentorship should also be a wider focus within companies. Pairing mid-career women with senior leaders can provide role models and clearer pathways to leadership, the report advised, adding that Europe should also invest in AI-driven reskilling as “a new on-ramp” to get women in tech.

Related

• Will AI create a gender trap for women in the workplace or level the employment field?

Women could capture many of the mid-level and senior roles that will be opening up due to the AI restructuring of the workforce with “targeted reskilling and deliberate advancement pathways.”

Organisations could do this either by helping mid-career women already in tech move into adjacent mid or senior-level AI roles or by creating more roads from the product and design fields into executive roles.

“Accelerating women into these future-critical roles is not a side agenda; it is one of Europe’s most tangible levers to build the leadership AI now demands and to strengthen innovation, governance, and competitiveness across the region,” the report added.

From cancer tests to COVID vaccines: the women reshaping Europe’s health in a male-dominated field

Copyright AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File

By Marta Iraola Iribarren

Published on 08/03/2026 - EURONEWS

Despite a surge in female scientists across the continent, women account for just 13 percent of European inventors.

When thinking about female inventors, the most common name to come to mind is probably Marie Curie.

For experts in the technology field, Ada Lovelace may ring a bell, and Rosalind Franklin may sound familiar among medicine professionals. However, the list is still narrow.

"Gender gaps still run through the entire innovation system — from the day you sign up to university, to the day you become a team leader or open your own start-up,” Roberta Romano-Götsch, chief sustainability officer and spokesperson at the European Patent Office (EPO), told Euronews Health.

The share of women inventors in Europe stood at just 13.8 percent in 2022, according to a new report by the European Patent Office. While this represents a steady increase from two percent in the late 1970s and 13 percent in 2019, the progress is stagnant.

“The pace is too slow and far from being balanced,” Romano-Götsch added.

Several names can be added to the list, European women working in medicine and biotechnology, who are responsible for some of the most groundbreaking advances of recent years.

Rochelle Niemeijer developed a portable artificial intelligence-driven test kit to quickly diagnose bacterial infections.

Related

• Women lose 75 million years of healthy life annually – yet receive only 6% of health funding

Laura van't Veer and her team created a gene-based test for breast cancer that evaluates tumour tissue for risk of cancer recurrence. It allows care providers to separate high-risk patients who actually require chemotherapy, and low-risk patients who can be spared the potentially damaging side effects of toxic chemical treatments.

Katalin Karikó, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023, developed a way to modify messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) for safe use in the human body. This paved the way for its use in COVID‑19 and other vaccines, as well as prospective therapies for cancer and heart disease.

Women’s research, especially on health, tends to address women-specific problems – aiming to close the gaps in areas such as endometriosis, menstrual health, and menopause, which remain largely understudied.

“Missing women inventors can narrow technological progress and inclusivity, and this is more than an equality challenge, it's a competitiveness challenge,” said Romano-Götsch.

In life sciences, such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and food chemistry, the share of female representation exceeds 30 percent, the highest of all fields, the EPO report found.

Women's shares tend to be higher in more science-based fields and closer to public universities and laboratories, the report noted.

The leaky pipeline

Women are not absent in science. The latest data show that the number of women working as scientists and engineers in the European Union has risen from 3.4 million in 2008 to 5.2 million in 2014, reaching 7.9 million in 2024.

In medical and health sciences, women make up 54 percent of all researchers, the highest share among all research and development fields.

The “leaky pipeline” is a widely used metaphor in discussions about gender equality in science and engineering.

According to the EPO, it describes the persistent pattern: women’s representation is highest at earlier stages of education and training, and declines progressively at successive career transitions, so that women remain under-represented in senior roles and leadership positions.

The report noted that the inventive potential of women’s research is comparable to that of men, suggesting that the gender gaps in patenting among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) doctoral graduates cannot be explained by differences in ability or output.

Related

• Nearly 1 in 4 EU women believe men are treated better by health workers, new study says

What barriers do women face?

The EPO identified several obstacles women encounter across their academic and research careers that can push them away from entrepreneurship.

Although women’s presence in patenting increases in team settings, they remain under-represented among team leaders, a gap that shapes visibility, credit and career progress.

Romano-Götsch highlighted the “Matilda effect”, named after suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage, which refers to the systematic under-recognition, denial, or minimisation of women’s scientific contributions.

Drawing on her experience as a mentor, she described how female work can be underevaluated or misattributed.

For example, women in the patenting context are not credited as authors in scientific publications or they are co-authors and they do not appear in the patents, she noted.

“This is a recurrent problem even today. Women contribute to the underlying knowledge but when it comes to nominating them as women inventors, they are not featured,” she said

Romano-Götsch added that closing these gaps is both a strategic imperative and a great opportunity, one that would bring access to a broader pool of talent, stronger teams, and better outcomes across research, patenting, and entrepreneurship.

“The benefits would span the entire innovation ecosystem”, she said.

Are European women closing the leadership gender gap?

By James Thomas 

Published on 06/03/2026 - EURONEWS

Most EU countries have seen a rise in the number of women in managerial positions since 2014, but three states have registered a decrease.

International Women's Day is celebrated on 8 March, and the data appears to show that more and more women are taking on positions of authority in the corporate world.

New statistics from Eurostat say that, in 2024, 35.2% of all managerial positions in the EU were held by women, up from 31.8% in 2014.

There was a higher share of young women managers aged between 15 and 39 than in other age groups: almost 40% of managers in that age group were female.

The share decreases with age, with 34.4% of women managers aged 40 to 64 and 26.5% of those aged 65 and older.

The numbers change depending on where in the EU we’re looking, too: the largest shares of women in managerial positions were seen in Sweden (44.4%), Latvia (43.4%) and Poland (41.8%).

On the other end, the lowest rates were recorded in Cyprus (25.3%), Croatia (27.6%) and Italy (27.9%).

But the numbers are rising in the vast majority of EU countries - Luxembourg saw the largest increase in women managers since 2014, at 13.7%. It was followed by Malta (10.1%) and Cyprus (7.9%).

However, Slovenia (-3.8%), Latvia (-0.7%) and Lithuania (-0.2%) actually registered a drop in women in managerial positions during that time.

The rise in female corporate leaders comes as more and more women take on roles in traditionally male-dominated areas in the EU, such as science and engineering.

Europe in Motion previously reported that the number of female scientists and engineers in the bloc increased from 3.4 million in 2008 to 7.9 million in 2024.

Related

• How is cyberviolence against women and girls spreading across Europe?
• Women scientists and engineers surge across the EU, new data shows

The boost in female managers also follows a push by the EU to have more balanced gender representation on the boards of listed companies, specifically through the implementation of its Gender Balance on Corporate Boards Directive.

The directive sets a target for businesses to have 40% of the underrepresented sex among their non-executive directors, and 33% among all directors.

While the deadline for companies to meet these objectives is 30 June 2026, the deadline for EU members to transpose the directive into law was December 2024, meaning companies were already pushing to improve diversity in their leadership in line with the Eurostat data.

Nevertheless, regardless of managerial positions, there's still a clear employment gap between men and women: other recent figures from Eurostat show that 80.8% of men were employed full-time across the bloc in 2024, falling to 70.8% of women.

The share of women in part-time employment was significantly higher than that of men, though (27.8% vs 7.7%), and Eurostat said that the employment gap fell by 1.1% across the EU over the past decade — a trend registered in 22 EU countries.

Pay gaps, bullying, violence: Challenges for

women's rights in the EU

Issued on: 06/03/2026 - 

Play (12:23 min)

On March 8, 2026, the world marks International Women's Day, to celebrate women's achievements and reinforce commitment to gender equality. In fact, this year denotes 115 years of collective action and advocacy.

On a global scale, Europe is actually very progressive. If one looks at the World Economic Forum's latest Gender Gap Index, European countries take eight spots out of the world's top 10.

In this show we explore areas that are still problematic in Europe when it comes to equality, particularly AI deepfakes and cyberbullying targeting women and girls – something that our guests are addressing at the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats, Oihana Almandoz, Aline Bottin and Paul Guianvarc'h

OUR GUESTS

Lina GALVEZSpanish MEP, Socialists and Democrats

Maria WALSHIrish MEP, European People's Party

BY: Armen GEORGIANFollow

6 in 10 US women projected to have at least one type of cardiovascular disease by 2050

The threat of heart disease and stroke is growing substantially among women and girls as rates climb for health factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement

American Heart Association

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Statement Highlights:

• Over the next 25 years, the number of women living with cardiovascular disease is expected to rise sharply, as nearly 60% of women in the U.S. could have high blood pressure by 2050, up from about 5 in 10 previously reported for 2020, according to projections outlined in a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association.
• Nearly a third of all women 22-44 years of age will have some type of cardiovascular disease, compared to less than 1 in 4 currently.
• The rise in cardiovascular disease will also be fueled by increases in other health factors like diabetes and obesity.
• The trend will even impact younger generations as nearly 32% of girls aged 2 to 19 may have obesity by 2050.

Embargoed until 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

DALLAS, Feb. 25, 2026 — Driven by rising rates in high blood pressure, nearly 6 in 10 women in the U.S. will have some type of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the next 25 years, according to a new scientific statement published today in Circulation, the peer-reviewed, flagship journal of the American Heart Association, a global force changing the future of health for all.

Forecasting the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in the United States Through 2050 in Women: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association builds upon prior work by the Association to assess projections of the future cardiovascular disease prevalence among women and the subsequent economic burden based on the current landscape.

“One in every three women will die from cardiovascular disease — maybe it’s your grandmother, or your mother or your daughter,” said the American Heart Association volunteer chair of the statement writing group, Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, a professor of medicine and public health and the co-director of the Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Additionally, more than 62 million women in the U.S. are living with some type of cardiovascular disease and that comes with a price tag of at least $200 billion, annually. Our estimates indicate that if we stay on the current path, these numbers will grow substantially over the next 25 to 30 years.”

Findings from the report point to significant increases among women for all types of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and stroke. Surges are also projected among women for many of the major health factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

Joynt Maddox said it is even more concerning that:

• The prevalence of some health factors is increasing among young girls, ages 2-19, as well.
• The increases are even more prevalent among women and girls identifying as American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic or multiracial people.

“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women and remains their #1 health risk overall,” said Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association and executive director of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health and senior vice president of women’s health at Northwell Health in New York City. “While many people may think these conditions like high blood pressure are only occurring in older women, we know this is not the case. We know the factors that contribute to heart disease and stroke begin early in life, even among young women and girls. The impact is even greater among those experiencing adverse social determinants of health such as poverty, low literacy, rural residence and other psychosocial stressors. Identifying the types of trends outlined in this report is critical to making meaningful changes that can reverse this course.”

By the numbers

The report finds that, given current trends, by 2050:

• Nearly 60% of women will have high blood pressure, compared to fewer than half currently.
• More than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% currently.
• More than 60% of women will have obesity, compared to about 44% currently.

The projections among women of color indicate some of the largest increases; by 2050:

• High blood pressure will increase the most among Hispanic women, up by more than 15%.
• Obesity will increase the most among Asian women, up by nearly 26%.
• Prevalence rates of health factors for CVD will, for the most part, remain highest among Black women. More than 70% of Black women will have high blood pressure, more than 71% will have obesity and nearly 28% will have diabetes.

While older women will continue to have some of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors, rates will climb substantially among young women. By 2025:

• Nearly a third of all women 22-44 years of age will have some type of cardiovascular disease, compared to less than 1 in 4 currently.
• Diabetes rates for women age 22-44 will more than double, from 6% to nearly 16%.
• More than a third of women age 22-44 will have high blood pressure, an increase of more than 11%.
• More than 1 in 6 women age 22-44 will have obesity, an increase of more than 18%.

The report also looks at cardiovascular health risk factors among young girls:

• By 2050, nearly 32% of girls 2-19 years of age will have obesity, an increase of more than 12%.
• That’s likely driven by more than 60% of these girls having inadequate physical activity and more than half having poor diets, rates that are projected to improve only slightly over the coming decades.
• As with women, these rates are typically higher among girls of color, particularly Black girls — 40% of whom will have obesity by 2050.

“This trend in increased health risks among girls and young women is particularly disturbing, as it indicates they will be facing chronic health issues for most of their lives. Women are already at increased risk for so many of these health conditions due to factors unique to them throughout their lifespan,” Rosen said. “Significant health changes during pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause make it particularly important to pay close attention to increases in health risk factors during those times.”

A positive outlook

There is some good news ahead as rates of high cholesterol are expected to decline among nearly all groups of women. Additionally, there are improvements expected in some of the health behaviors that impact CVD, including healthier eating, more physical activity and less smoking.

“We know that people are living longer as health conditions are being better managed. As a medical community, we have done a great job decreasing deaths from big cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes, but these data suggest that we need to really refocus our efforts on health, wellness and prevention,” Joynt Maddox said. “We need to keep girls and women from developing cardiovascular risk factors so that they can live long, healthy lives free of cardiovascular disease, and that means being very intentional about focusing on optimal cardiovascular health across the life course.”

The American Heart Association defines optimal health through its Life’s Essential 8™ — four health behaviors (eat better, be more active, quit tobacco and get healthy sleep) and four health factors (manage weight, control cholesterol, manage blood sugar and manage blood pressure).

“These ideal cardiovascular health metrics are based on extensive scientific research that recognizes the majority — as much as 80% — of heart disease and stroke can be prevented,” Rosen said. “I like to call Life’s Essential 8 a prescription for health. And one of the most exciting things about it is that we have tailored guidance for these metrics for different times in a woman’s life — from childhood through menopause and beyond. This report projects a concerning future, however, it’s not too late to take the first steps to healthier outcomes.”

A call to action

“The most efficient, effective, and least costly way to reduce the prevalence and impact of cardiovascular disease is through prevention. Yet, these projections signal that our current prevention efforts are inadequate, particularly for women of color and younger women,” Joynt Maddox said. “In the report, we’ve identified several considerations to improve prevention, treatment and sustained care across the life course for all women.”

Health Behaviors: Preventing health problems before they start is one of the best ways to protect heart health.

• Promote healthy choices in places where people learn, live, and receive care — like schools, community centers, pediatric clinics, and gynecology offices.
• Use digital tools, when helpful, to encourage and reinforce positive lifestyle changes.

Health Factor Management: Managing chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity early can make a big difference — especially for women at higher risk.

• Health care teams and policymakers should prioritize long‑term support for managing chronic conditions in women, including early check-ins, team‑based care and the use of digital tools that make care easier to access.
• Studies should look at how new obesity medications work specifically in women to ensure they’re safe and effective.

Clinical Cardiovascular Disease: Optimal care and high-quality treatments are needed for women experiencing all types of CVD, including heart attacks, heart failure, atrial fibrillation and stroke.

• When women come to the hospital with a heart attack, heart failure or stroke, quality improvement programs, such as the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®, are needed to ensure they get fast, effective and equitable treatment.
• For long‑term conditions like atrial fibrillation and heart failure, care plans should include factors unique to women so shared treatment decisions are better tailored.
• Brain health, particularly dementia, should be considered an important part of blood pressure control, along with CVD prevention and treatment in women.

Care Across Every Stage of Life: Each stage of life offers an opportunity to spot risks early and protect heart health.

• Pediatricians should know that early menstrual periods can signal higher future cardiovascular risk as an adult. Menstrual history should be part of routine evaluations at every age.
• Coordinated care across specialties should be integrated before, during and after pregnancy, ensuring needs are met at every step.
• Research should continue to explore how lifestyle changes and hormone therapy around menopause impact women’s heart health.

Understanding the Role of Social and Demographic Factors: Social and environmental factors affect women differently.

• Programs tailored for Black women are urgently needed to help address their higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
• Health systems should consider how social challenges — like access to healthy food, transportation or safe housing — combine with medical risks, and design interventions that improve heart health in each setting.

Not set in stone

Joynt Maddox was also the author of the American Heart Association’s 2024 presidential advisory Forecasting the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in the United States Through 2050: Prevalence of Risk Factors and Disease. The report included several simulation studies that identified ways to reverse current trends:

• A 10% reduction of health factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity and a 20% improvement in the control of blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol could reduce CVD and stroke events, including death, by 17% to 23%.
• Reducing obesity by half and doubling risk factor control could reduce CVD events and deaths by 30% to 40%.

“Society has come so far in medical advancements, but the same can’t be said for innovation and progress around cardiovascular health, wellness and prevention. These projections emphasize how critical it is that we start focusing on how to help all people stay healthy,” Joynt Maddox said. “In this new era of digital health, artificial intelligence and new metabolic medication options, health care professionals increasingly have the tools to do this, but not yet the systems.”

Rosen noted that at a time when awareness about cardiovascular disease among women has been declining, the future outlined in this report should be a wake-up call.

“Every woman of every age should understand her risk of heart disease and stroke and be empowered to take action to reduce that risk,” she said. “Know your numbers, listen to your body and be an advocate for your health. Additionally, support girls and women in your life to do the same. We can make a difference — we can be the difference.”

This scientific statement was prepared by a volunteer writing group on behalf of the American Heart Association Women’s Health Science Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology and Stroke Council; Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Lifelong Congenital Heart Disease and Heart Health in the Young; and Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease. American Heart Association scientific statements promote greater awareness about cardiovascular diseases and stroke issues and help facilitate informed health care decisions. Scientific statements outline what is currently known about a topic and what areas need additional research. While scientific statements inform the development of guidelines, they do not make treatment recommendations. American Heart Association guidelines provide the Association’s official clinical practice recommendations.

Co-authors are Vice Chair Harmony R. Reynolds, M.D., FAHA; Demilade Adedinsewo, M.D., M.P.H.; Cheryl Bushnell, M.D., M.H.S., FAHA; Holli A. DeVon, Ph.D., FAHA; Holly C. Gooding, M.D., M.S.; Virginia J. Howard, Ph.D., FAHA; Rina Mauricio, M.D.; Eliza C. Miller, M.D., M.S.; Garima Sharma, M.D., FAHA; and R.J. Waken, Ph.D. Authors’ disclosures are listed in the manuscript.

The Association receives more than 85% of its revenue from sources other than corporations. These sources include contributions from individuals, foundations and estates, as well as investment earnings and revenue from the sale of our educational materials. Corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations to the Association. The Association has strict policies to prevent any donations from influencing its science content and policy positions. Overall financial information is available here.

Additional Resources:

• Video interview clips with Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA and additional multimedia are available on right column of release link.
• After 4 a.m. CT/5 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, view the manuscript online.
• Spanish news release - includes video interview clips with Johanna Contreras, M.D., M.Sc., FAHA. (to be added) 
•  News releases in Chinese traditional | Chinese simplified | Tagalog | Vietnamese (to be added)
• American Heart Association Health Information: Go Red for Women
• American Heart Association Health Information: Facts | Go Red for Women
• American Heart Association News Release: Non-biological factors and social determinants of health important in women’s CVD risk assessment
• Follow American Heart Association/American Stroke Association news on X @HeartNews
• Follow news from Circulation, the American Heart Association flagship journal on X @CircAHA.

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. Dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities, the organization has been a leading source of health information for more than one hundred years. Supported by more than 35 million volunteers globally, we fund groundbreaking research, advocate for the public’s health, and provide critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke. By driving breakthroughs and implementing proven solutions in science, policy, and care, we work tirelessly to advance health and transform lives every day.  Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

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Journal

Circulation

DOI

10.1161/CIR.0000000000001406 

Article Title

Forecasting the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in Women in the United States Through 2050: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association