Advances in Cardiovascular Risk Assessment & Gender‑Specific Management

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death for both men and women globally, yet decades of clinical research were conducted predominantly in male cohorts. This systematic exclusion created a critical evidence gap: therapies calibrated for male physiology were applied universally, often with suboptimal outcomes in female patients.

The past two decades have witnessed a paradigm shift. Landmark studies — the WISE trial, the WOEST trial, and the comprehensive 2021 ESC Guidelines on CVD Prevention — have established that sex and gender influence every dimension of cardiovascular disease: from the molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis to presenting symptoms, diagnostic accuracy, treatment response, and long-term prognosis.