Wonder women : wondering where the women in cardiovascular trials are?

Women's health is far more than 'bikini medicine'. Not only does cardiovascular disease (CVD) remain the leading cause of death for women, but CVD burden persists affecting over 275.2 million women worldwide, even after sex-specific targeted health campaigns. Despite this burden, women, who comprise 49.6% of the global population, are consistently underrepresented in cardiovascular trials regularly making up about a third of cardiovascular trial populations. Furthermore, this sex bias has remained largely unchanged over several decades. So why are women less likely to participate in cardiovascular trials? Does it matter, and if it does matter, what can be done to redress the balance?