BATON ROUGE — A new study from the American Heart Association (AHA) is revealing a troubling forecast for women’s heart health. According to a new AHA scientific statement, six in 10 U.S. women are projected to have at least one type of cardiovascular disease by 2050.
The data shows that given current trends, by 2050:
- Nearly 60% of women could have high blood pressure, up from 50% in 2020.
- More than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% right now.
- More than 60% of women will be considered obese, compared to 44% currently.
READ MORE: Baton Rouge ranks among America’s most overweight cities
Concerning increases
The report points to significant increases for all types of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke.
“One in every three women will die from cardiovascular disease — maybe it’s your grandmother, or your mother or your daughter,” said the American Heart Association volunteer chair of the statement writing group, Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, a professor of medicine and public health and the co-director of the Center for Advancing Health Services, Policy & Economics Research at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
“Additionally, more than 62 million women in the U.S. are living with some type of cardiovascular disease and that comes with a price tag of at least $200 billion, annually. Our estimates indicate that if we stay on the current path, these numbers will grow substantially over the next 25 to 30 years.”
Dr. Maddox says what is even more concerning is that the prevalence of some health factors is increasing among young girls aged 2-19, and the increases are even more prevalent among girls and women who are American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, Hispanic, or multiracial.
The projections among women of color indicate some of the largest increases by 2050:
- High blood pressure will increase the most among Hispanic women, up by more than 15%.
- Obesity will increase the most among Asian women, up by nearly 26%.
- Prevalence rates of health factors for cardiovascular disease will, for the most part, remain the highest among Black women. More than 70% of Black women will have high blood pressure, more than 71% will have obesity, and nearly 28% will have diabetes.
Impacting young people
The AHA’s study shows that older women will continue to have some of the highest cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors, but rates will also climb significantly among young women by 2050.
For women between 20-44 years of age:
- Nearly a third will have some type of cardiovascular disease, compared to less than a quarter currently.
- Diabetes rates will more than double, from 6% to nearly 16%.
- More than a third of women will have high blood pressure, an increase of more than 11%.
- More than one-in-six women will have obesity, an increase of more than 18%.
There are also risk factors for young girls, including 32% of girls 2-19 years old becoming obese by 2050, an increase of more than 12%. The AHA says that increase is likely driven by more than 60% of these girls having inadequate physical activity, and more than half having poor diets.
“This trend in increased health risks among girls and young women is particularly disturbing, as it indicates they will be facing chronic health issues for most of their lives. Women are already at increased risk for so many of these health conditions due to factors unique to them throughout their lifespan,”said Stacey E. Rosen, M.D., FAHA, volunteer president of the American Heart Association and executive director of the Katz Institute for Women’s Health and senior vice president of women’s health at Northwell Health in New York City. “Significant health changes during pregnancy, perimenopause and menopause make it particularly important to pay close attention to increases in health risk factors during those times.”
Looking on the bright side
The AHA says there is some good news amid these rising numbers. High cholesterol rates are expected to decline among nearly all groups of women. There are also improvements expected in some of the health behaviors that impact cardiovascular disease, including healthier eating, more physical activity, and less smoking.
Some of the best ways to improve the overall numbers include promoting healthy behaviors and choices, managing chronic conditions, and getting optimal care and high-quality treatments if you’re experiencing cardiovascular disease.
“We know that people are living longer as health conditions are being better managed. As a medical community, we have done a great job decreasing deaths from big cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes, but these data suggest that we need to really refocus our efforts on health, wellness and prevention,” Dr. Maddox said. “We need to keep girls and women from developing cardiovascular risk factors so that they can live long, healthy lives free of cardiovascular disease, and that means being very intentional about focusing on optimal cardiovascular health across the life course.”
You can read the complete study here.
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