We don’t know enough about women’s hearts—and it’s killing them – Quartz

We don’t know enough about women’s hearts—and it’s killing them – Quartz.

Heart disease is not a man’s problem. In 2013, 611,015 Americans (pdf, p. 30) died of heart-related problems, and unlike what you might expect, the gender breakdown was pretty even: 52.5% of the deaths were men, 47.5% women.

For women in the US it’s the leading cause of death and kills almost one in three women every year—more than all types of cancer combined. By comparison, in the US, breast cancer kills one in 31 women. Traditionally, heart attack has been seen as a male disease, women are not aware of their risk. A survey conducted by market research institute GfK found that only 27% of women can mention a woman they know who suffered of heart disease, and only 11% say they know a woman who has died from it.

While men’s heart conditions receive significant funding, research on women’s heart disease is rather underfunded. The National Health Institute (NIH) spent $246 million in funding toward research on women’s heart disease, while $1.5 billion was given for overall heart disease research, which, according to the Women’s Health Alliance, benefits men much more than women.