Drawing on insights from patients, clinicians, researchers, and industry partners across 13 countries, the report presents six actionable recommendations to improve the outcomes for women with HVD throughout the entire patient journey, from inclusion of more women in research to earlier access to diagnosis and personalised treatment.

Reflecting on the roundtable meeting, Prof. Guendalina Graffigna, Director of EngageMinds Hub, said: “There is a strong passion and urgency among the people we interviewed and attended this meeting to address HVD in women, yet its impact remains underestimated by policymakers, care systems, and even patients. We need collective action to improve their care pathways.”

Speaking about the report, Neil Johnson, Executive Director of Global Heart Hub, said: “For too long, women with heart valve disease have been invisible in the data and underserved in health services. This report is both a call to action and a roadmap for change. By working together across borders and disciplines, we can ensure women’s voices are heard, their needs are met, and their outcomes are improved.”

Heart valve disease is a common health condition worldwide, being recognised as the next cardiac epidemic, in part related to the increasing ageing population. Yet, as the report highlights, women are frequently diagnosed late, misdiagnosed, or excluded from critical clinical trials. The recommendations set out in the roadmap address these gaps head-on, urging global and local action from patient advocates, the clinical community, policymakers and healthcare systems.

The consensus was shaped through a multi-stakeholder roundtable, where the resulting report offers a comprehensive analysis of the sex- and gender-based barriers in the awareness, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of HVD in women, ensuring that lived experience is embedded in every recommendation.

Jacqueline Lewis, who lives with heart valve disease, co-chaired the international specialists’ multidisciplinary roundtable and contributed to the report, said: “I know firsthand how critical it is that women’s voices and experiences are truly heard. Far too often, symptoms like breathlessness, fatigue, or dizziness are dismissed or misattributed, especially when reported by women. By embedding patient experience into clinical conversations and system change, we have the opportunity to improve early detection and diagnosis, ensure equitable treatment, and support women throughout their lives”.

With practical recommendations for stakeholders at every level, from patients and healthcare professionals to policymakers and industry partners, the report serves as both a roadmap and a wake-up call for action. It calls for urgent, coordinated action to correct systemic inequities and improve outcomes for women with HVD globally.

Exposing the gender-specific challenges faced by women living with heart valve disease Prof Marta Sitges, Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, who also co-chaired the roundtable and contributed to the report, added: “For too long, sex and gender differences in HVD have been overlooked in both research and clinical practice. Female patients remain underrepresented in clinical trials, and diagnostic criteria and guidelines continue to be based largely on male-centric data. It is time to translate data into action. As clinicians, we have a responsibility to champion these changes because evidence-based, gender-responsive care is not optional, it is essential”.