Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women despite advances in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Although cardiovascular diseases have been well studied in men, it is now recognized that there are important sex-based differences and not all findings are applicable to women. This has led to a resurgence of interest in identifying contributors to cardiovascular diseases in women as well as guide pharmacotherapeutic and percutaneous or surgical interventions to improve clinical outcomes. This special issue highlights the state-of-the-art in our understanding of cardiovascular diseases in women with a focus on epidemiology and social determinants of cardiovascular health and disease; pregnancy and cardiovascular disease as well as the effect of pregnancy-related complications on future disease; the role of comorbidities on symptoms, presentation, and treatment selection; and sex-based differences in treatment and clinical outcomes of cardiovascular diseases in women. These issues impact chest pain syndromes and coronary artery diseases, valvular heart disease, peripheral artery and cerebrovascular diseases, and pulmonary vascular diseases. 

Dr. Jane A. Leopold

Guest Editor