This study, published in a general interest medical journal, analyses women's participation in clinical trials on heart disease. It was conducted by cardiologists from various hospitals, mainly in the United States, who specialise in gender differences, and is based on official data from ClinicalTrials.gov, the US government's registry database.

More than 1,000 trials and over a million participants between 2017 and 2023 were reviewed, taking into account not only the prevalence of disease in women, but also age, geographical location and other factors. This makes the results particularly relevant and representative.

Among the findings, it was found that young women participate more than older women, despite the fact that cardiovascular disease increases significantly after menopause. In addition, women are less present in drug trials, while in those focusing on healthy lifestyle habits there is greater female participation, probably due to greater awareness of these issues.

The study also shows differences depending on the disease: in obesity, for example, women are better represented both because of the high incidence and greater social awareness. In contrast, in pathologies mistakenly considered ‘masculine,’ such as arrhythmia, female representation remains insufficient. Positive progress has been observed in heart failure trials, thanks to greater awareness in recent years.

Geographical differences were also very significant, pointing to the influence of sociocultural factors on women's participation.

In conclusion, although progress has been made, there is still some way to go before clinical trials better reflect the reality of cardiovascular disease in women.

I believe this study is important in order to understand where the difficulties and problems in recruiting female patients lie and how to act to correct them. As a limitation, they point out that only studies registered on ClinicalTrials.gov were analysed and that some diseases were not included.

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