Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes in Women

Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are responsible for over one-third of all female deaths in LMICs, nearly three times the number of deaths caused by all infectious diseases and maternal conditions combined. Women in low-income countries also die at a younger age from heart disease compared to women in high-income countries. Evidence-based, cost-effective policy and health sector interventions presented in this brief should be integrated into existing services for women and national health sector planning.

Key Messages from DCP3 on Addressing Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes in Women

• Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are responsible for over a third of all female deaths in low- and middle-income countries, nearly three times the number of deaths caused by all infectious diseases and maternal conditions combined.

• Cost-effective policy and health sector interventions are feasible to scale up in low-resource settings. Countries urgently need to invest in improving capacity to prevent, diagnose, and treat CVD and diabetes at the community and health center levels.

• Health services for cardiovascular risks and diseases are often not publicly financed in LMICs, leaving households to face catastrophic medical spending.

• Scaling up all CVD and diabetes interventions in DCP3 to cover 80% of women in need of those services would cost an additional US$ 3.6 billion in low-income countries and US$ 16 billion per year in lower-middle-income countries.

Integrate scale-up of effective policy and health sector interventions for CVD and diabetes in women in national health sector planning.  Because few of the interventions recommended by DCP3 are currently available from public health services in LMICs, CVD and diabetes cause one-third of all deaths among women. While these interventions take a significant investment of funds, the potential for avoiding CVD and diabetes treatment costs and gaining workforce productivity is immense.

Integrate CVD screening and treatment into antenatal care and ensure linkages with primary health centers for post-pregnancy disease management. In many LMICs, additional capacity-building for screenings, long-term follow-up, and reliable medication delivery will also be needed at the health center level to ensure adequate quality of care.

Establish referral centers for medical management of acute CVD and diabetic conditions.

SOURCE MATERIAL AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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