Key result
CVD leads premature mortality in Canadian women, hitting marginalized and lower-socioeconomic groups hardest.
Why the study?
This Atlas chapter summarizes the epidemiology of CVD in women in Canada, discussing sex and gender disparities and examining intersectionality with factors such as indigenous identity, ethnicity, disability, and socioeconomic status.
This epidemiological review highlights that CVD remains the leading cause of premature death in Canadian women, emphasizing the need to address significant disparities related to ethnicity, indigenous identity, disability, and socioeconomic status.
Supports targeted CVD screening in marginalized Canadian women; leaves open effective disparity-reducing interventions.
BACKGROUND: This Atlas chapter summarizes the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women in Canada, discusses sex and gender disparities, and examines the intersectionality between sex and other factors that play a prominent role in CVD outcomes in women, including gender, indigenous identity, ethnic variation, disability, and socioeconomic status. METHODS: CVD is the leading cause of premature death in Canadian women. Coronary artery disease, including myocardial infarction, and followed by stroke, accounts for the majority of CVD-related deaths in Canadian women. The majority of emergency department visits and hospitalizations by women are due to coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke. The effect of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and their association with increasing cardiovascular morbidity is unique in this group. RESULTS: Indigenous women in Canada experience increased CVD, linked to colonization and subsequent social, economic, and political challenges. Women from particular racial and ethnic backgrounds (ie, South Asian, Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic, and Chinese North American women) have greater CVD risk factors, and CVD risk in East Asian women increases with duration of stay in Canada. CONCLUSIONS: Canadians living in northern, rural, remote, and on-reserve residences experience greater CVD morbidity, mortality, and risk factors. An increase in CVD risk among Canadian women has been linked with a background of lower socioeconomic status, and women with disabilities have an increased risk of adverse cardiac events.
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Jaffer et al. (2020) conducted a review in Cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease risk factors and social determinants vs. Men or general population was evaluated on Cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of premature death in Canadian women, with indigenous, ethnic minority, disabled, and lower socioeconomic status women experiencing greater morbidity and mortality.
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