Abstract

ROLANDI, Florencia et al. Women Survey on Women Awareness of Cardiovascular Disease. Rev. argent. cardiol. [online]. 2013, vol.81, n.4, pp.329-335. ISSN 1850-3748.

Cardiovascular diseases represent a major health problem for women in Argentina. Since 2007, more women than men die in our country due to heart disease and a woman dies every 11 minutes, according to the latest published vital statistics. We performed a telephone survey in a representative sample of women from Buenos Aires in order to assess whether they are aware they may suffer from cardiovascular diseases and their knowledge about these pathologies. Results from 600 respondents showed that the vast majority of women have an adequate level of knowledge about cardiovascular risk factors, symptoms of heart disease and stroke, as well as behaviors that prevent or reduce the likelihood of becoming ill. However, most women, especially the younger ones, perceive breast cancer as a main health concern rather than cardiovascular diseases. The results also show that women get most of the information about cardiovascular diseases mainly from mass media and rarely from their doctors. Raising women awareness about their risk of suffering heart disease might lead to the adoption of better preventive behaviors and, in the case of an acute cardiovascular event, seek immediate help to have access to the best treatment.

Keywords : Cardiovascular Disease; Women; Gender; Perception; Knowledge; Survey.

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