Words by GOLD newsdesk
A health initiative supporting women with heart failure, especially black and Latina individuals, and helping them to prioritise and optimise their care, has been launched by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly in the US.
Entitled ‘Hear Your Heart’, the initiative provides tailored resources and educational content, including perspectives from others living with heart failure and experts who treat the condition, with the aim of encouraging proactive, ongoing conversations and providing actionable steps for women living with heart failure, care partners and healthcare providers to help improve outcomes.
Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly have highlighted the need to address the critical unmet need surrounding women having worse outcomes than men when diagnosed with heart failure, despite a similar prevalence of the condition between the sexes.
But gender isn’t the only disparity: looking specifically at black and Latina women, those with heart failure are less likely to be admitted to specialised cardiology units, black women have a higher mortality rate compared to white women, and heart disease – which includes heart failure – is the second leading cause of death for Latina women. These unique challenges and barriers highlight the need for improved education and access to care for these communities.
“Proactive and comprehensive heart failure care can lead to better patient outcomes not just for the cardiovascular system, but the renal and metabolic systems as well, given they are interconnected,” said Anita Holz, Executive Director, Therapeutic Area Head Cardiometabolism, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. “With ‘Hear Your Heart’, we are not only providing education and resources to support holistic care, but we are encouraging women with heart failure to reassess their care to determine what areas they can address to put themselves first and feel their best living with the condition.”
