Educational event: SCAI highlights gender and racial disparities in treating cardiovascular disease

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) today announced an educational event for the public highlighting the gender and racial disparities in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The "Know What Counts" educational program titled, "The Path to Health Care Equity: Identifying and Solving Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Health Care in the New Century," will feature a distinguished physician panel, along with a keynote address by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. The event, which is co-sponsored by the Association of Black Cardiologists, Mended Hearts, and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease, will be held Tuesday, March 2, from noon to 3 p.m. at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.

"This event will allow us to engage in a constructive conversation about gender and racial disparities that currently exist in the treatment of cardiovascular disease," said Mark Turco, MD, FACC, FSCAI, Director, Center for Cardiac & Vascular Research at Washington Adventist Hospital. "We will address ways to close the gap in cardiovascular care and outcomes, so gender, race, and ethnicity cease to be relevant to survival and quality-of-life with heart disease."

Cardiovascular disease, which is consistently the number one killer of both men and women in America, affected an estimated 80 million people in the U.S. in 2006. In addition, CVD was the cause of more than 35 percent of all U.S. deaths in 2005. Women under the age of 50 are twice as likely to die from a heart attack as men in their same age group. African American women ages 55-64 are twice as likely as white women to have a heart attack and 35 percent more likely to suffer from heart disease. In 2006, nearly 47 percent of African American women, and nearly 45 percent of African American males had CVD.

Program director Dr. Turco will lead the event. Other notable event participants will include:

• Marcos Pesquera, RPh, MPH, Executive Director of the Center on Health Disparities, Adventist HealthCare
• Brian Smedley, PhD, Vice President and Director, Health Policy Institute Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
• Allen J. Taylor, MD, FACC, FAHA, Director of Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging Lipid/Prevention Clinic, Department of Cardiology, Washington Hospital Center
• Ron Waksman, MD, Associate Director, Division of Cardiology at the Washington Hospital Center and Director of Experimental Angioplasty & Emerging Technologies for the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Washington Hospital Center

The program will also feature dramatic testimonials from local heart disease patients who will share their stories of survival to inspire hope for other patients who suffer from heart disease.

"As we seek to shape true reform in our health care system, we must first address the disparities that exist among our citizens, specifically women and people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds," said Mr. Pesquera. "This event will give us a forum for excellent dialogue to not only raise awareness on this issue, but also to provide real solutions on how we can best achieve this long-sought parity in care.

"Despite the near split in prevalence of heart disease between men and women, women account for only 20 to 25 percent of patients enrolled in most CVD clinical trials," said Dr. Turco. "Recruiting diverse patients to participate in clinical trials is a huge priority for the cardiovascular research community."

"To address these differences, SCAI launched WINHeart – Score a WIN for Women, an initiative to raise awareness surrounding gender-based disparities in the diagnosis, treatment and survival of women with cardiovascular disease," says Steven R. Bailey, MD, FSCAI, president of SCAI and chief, division of cardiology, Janey Briscoe Distinguished Chair of Cardiovascular Research and professor of medicine and radiology at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio. "Additionally, Women In Innovations (WIN), a group of interventional cardiologists within SCAI, recently released a report and survey that illustrate why cardiovascular disease is under-recognized and under-treated in women."