Fifteen-Year Trends in Awareness of Heart Disease in Women

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in awareness of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among women between 1997 and 2012 by racial/ethnic and age groups, as well as knowledge of CVD symptoms and preventive behaviors/barriers. Methods and Results A study of awareness of CVD was conducted by the American Heart Association in 2012 among US women >25 years of age identified through random-digit dialing (n=1205) and Harris Poll Online (n=1227), similar to prior American Heart Association national surveys. Standardized questions on awareness were given to all women; additional questions about preventive behaviors/barriers were given online. Data were weighted, and results were compared with triennial surveys since 1997. Between 1997 and 2012, the rate of awareness of CVD as the leading cause of death nearly doubled (56% versus 30%; P<0.001). The rate of awareness among black and Hispanic women in 2012 (36% and 34%, respectively) was similar to that of white women in 1997 (33%). In 1997, women were more likely to cite cancer than CVD as the leading killer (35% versus 30%), but in 2012, the trend reversed (24% versus 56%). Awareness of atypical symptoms of CVD has improved since 1997 but remains low. The most common reasons why women took preventive action were to improve health and to feel better, not to live longer. Conclusions Awareness of CVD among women has improved in the past 15 years, but a significant racial/ethnic minority gap persists. Continued effort is needed to reach at-risk populations. These data should inform public health campaigns to focus on evidenced-based strategies to prevent CVD and to help target messages that resonate and motivate women to take action.

Knowledge of Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors among a Community Sample in Oman: Pilot study

“…15,16 Smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol have been rated as factors posing the greatest risk for CHD. 8 Pereira et al reported that the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of these risk factors in developing countries are coming closer to those in developed countries. 26 The aggressive nature and consequences of these risk factors have prompted healthcare providers to give them more emphasis whilst advising patients.…”

“…5 Greater knowledge of CHD risk factors helps individuals to correctly assess their personal risk, motivates them to increase prevention-seeking behaviours and has been associated with increased action to lower risks. [6][7][8] Estimating knowledge of traditional CHD risk factors among a population is therefore crucial in the prevention and treatment of this condition and continues to serve as the baseline for most screening programmes. 9 Inherent psycho-cognitive factors such as the perceived risk of a disease or the importance of behavioural change as well as barriers to the adoption of preventative behaviours or CHD screening may contribute to lack of knowledge.…”

Improving knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about acute coronary syndrome through an individualized educational intervention: A randomized controlled trial

“…Theoretically-based education is considered superior to its non-theory based counterpart [34][35][36]. The majority of previous interventions that targeted knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about ACS were underpinned by a theoretical framework [7,8,[16][17][18]20]. Five of these were based on Leventhal's Self-Regulatory Model of Illness Behaviour [7,8,[16][17][18].…”

“…To be included in this study, an ACS diagnosis was a pre-requisite; a criterion which differed from previous studies, where inclusion criteria ranged from a diagnosis of coronary heart disease [7,8,14,18,19] to no diagnosis required [16,17,20].…”

“…To date, eight interventions aimed to improve knowledge, attitudes or beliefs about ACS [7,8,14,[16][17][18][19][20]. A summary of these interventions are outlined in Table 1.…”