The American Heart Association has issued a scientific statement on preventing and experiencing ischemic heart disease (IHD) as a woman which presents a thorough compilation of the most current research related to IHD in women. It focuses on studies that document women’s experiences and influential factors that affect their receiving a correct diagnosis and timely treatment for IHD. Some of the areas described include:

• Epidemiology of IHD in women (age, race, genomics, ethnicity and culture, social and environmental influences).

• Rates of repeat acute myocardial infarctions, rehospitalization, disability, and mortality.

• How women experience IHD and risk factors involved.

Practice recommendations include:

• Increased education for providers and women on emerging risks for IHD and routine assessment of individual risk of IHD.

• Routine assessment of sex-specific risks for IHD in screening, history, and physical examination by all primary care providers and gynecologists.

• Population health approaches to decreasing women’s and girls’ risks.

• Assessment of risk factors for IHD and ways to reduce risk as part of every clinic visit for women.

Citation: McSweeney JC, Rosenfeld AG, Braun LT, et al. Preventing and experiencing ischemic heart disease as a women: state of the science. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. [Published online ahead of print February 29, 2016]. Circulation. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000381.

Commentary: Ischemic heart disease remains the number one killer of women nationwide. With this scientific statement, the American Heart Association shines light not only on the difficulty in recognizing the symptoms of ischemic heart disease for both female patients and their physicians but also on the risk factors for heart disease unique to women. As this article points out, women are particularly at risk for cardiovascular disease if they are obese and have a 6-fold greater risk of dying from heart disease if they have diabetes compared to nondiabetics. This provides a good reminder that working with our female patients to prevent heart disease with lifestyle modifications to reduce their cardiovascular risks has a large impact on their morbidity and mortality. —Amy Clouse, MD