Women Still Underrepresented in Cardiovascular Trials

TUESDAY, Sept. 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — In recent years, challenges have persisted in representation of women within cardiovascular (CV) clinical trials, according to a study published online Aug. 31 in JAMA Network Open to coincide with the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2025, held from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 in Madrid.

Frederick Berro Rivera, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to determine the representation of women across a broad range of CV trials.

Based on 1,079 registered CV trials (roughly 1.4 million participants), the researchers found that the female-to-male ratio was significantly lower for studies on arrhythmia (median, 0.5), coronary heart disease (median, 0.39), acute coronary syndrome (median, 0.32), and heart failure (median, 0.51). However, the female-to-male ratio was higher for obesity (median, 1.44) and pulmonary hypertension (median, 2.86) trials. Compared with drug trials, the female-to-male ratio was higher for trials on lifestyle interventions (median, 1.51). For clinical trials on coronary heart disease (median, 0.66), acute coronary syndrome (median, 0.79), and stroke (median, 0.74), the participation-to-prevalence ratios were low. There was variance in representation of women in CV trials by disease state, region, intervention, and sponsor type.

“Although we’ve made progress, critical gaps persist,” coauthor Susan Cheng, M.D., M.P.H., from Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, said in a statement. “It”s important to ensure that what we learn from research can be applied to women, who represent more than half of the world”s population.”

Several authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.

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