Landmark symposium in Nairobi seeks to tackle cardiovascular disease in African Women

Co-hosted by the Kenya Cardiac Society (KCS) and the Association of Progressive Obstetricians & Gynaecologists of Kenya (APOG-K), the joint symposium aims to address one of the most underdiagnosed and undertreated health challenges across the continent - cardiovascular disease in African women.

Themed "Advancing Cardiovascular Health for African Women: A Healthier Tomorrow," the event highlights the urgency of shifting from generalized global guidelines toward localized, evidence-based interventions tailored specifically to African women.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide, yet diagnostic tools, risk models, and clinical research have historically lagged in capturing women-specific risks.

The symposium focuses on critical stages of a woman’s life where cardiac risk rises sharply, including pregnancy, maternal care, and menopause.

Highlighting the importance of this groundbreaking summit, Dr. Helen Nguchu, Consultant Cardiologist and Secretary of the Kenya Cardiac Society, emphasized the need to reshape how healthcare systems approach women’s heart health across Africa.

Dr. Nguchu states that the inaugural symposium places a sharp focus on the unique physiological realities of women's heart health, aiming to pivot medical practices away from traditional, male-dominated research models toward a more tailored, lifecycle-based approach.

According Dr. Nguchu, past clinical trials have frequently featured subjects who are roughly 75% male, with women relegated to a minority representation, often limited to older, postmenopausal demographics.

She further noted that traditionally, recruiting male subjects was logistically simpler, and researchers exercised extreme caution regarding women of reproductive age due to potential, unknown risks to a fetus.

Consequently, while heart disease continues to claim the lives of women, clinicians have historically lacked sufficient, female-centric data to identify and treat risks effectively.

"Women's physiology is unique and different from that of men, and there are events that we get, for example, pregnancy is a physiological event. And for those women who get problems in pregnancy, it actually predicts future cardiovascular disease. So, the purpose of this particular symposium is actually to address the unique features of cardiovascular disease and risk factors especially in women, across the full spectrum from puberty all the way to menopause," Dr. Nguchu said.

Dr. Nguchu further highlighted the essential role of early intervention in women, and multidisciplinary collaboration.

She said: "Traditionally it was easier to get male subjects. Also, you know with women especially in the reproductive age group, nobody wants to test something new on them because you don't know what effects it might have on her fetus. So that's part of the reason why I think it was just easier to do it with men. But now we need to design such studies that look specifically at women."

The October 24th event brings together four core pillars designed to drive sustainable change in healthcare systems.

First, it emphasizes women-centred science by expanding clinical research, registry data, and diagnostic frameworks centered on African women's unique biology and lifestyle risk factors.

Second, it promotes multidisciplinary collaboration to foster seamless joint care between cardiologists, obstetricians, gynaecologists, mental health specialists, and primary care clinicians.

Third, it focuses on real-world solutions to develop practical clinical guidelines and referral networks accessible to low- and middle-resource communities.

Finally, it works toward healthier women and stronger communities, recognizing that women’s cardiovascular health directly influences household stability, economic productivity, and community resilience.

Dr. Yubrine Moraa, a prominent cardiologist and the chief cardiologist at Primecare Heart Clinic also shared some critical insights while highlighting the systematic challenges facing female heart health.

According to Moraa, for decades, medical research and clinical trials have predominantly focused on male demographics, leading to critical knowledge gaps regarding how heart conditions uniquely affect women.

"Women have historically been underrepresented in cardiovascular clinical trials and research, particularly in certain disease areas," Dr. Moraa explained. "This has contributed to important gaps in our understanding of sex-specific disease mechanisms, clinical presentations and treatment responses."

Because baseline medical models have traditionally been built around male symptoms and presentations, women frequently encounter delays or misdiagnoses when seeking care.

"Cardiovascular disease in women remains underdiagnosed in many settings," Dr. Moraa noted. "Symptoms may be misinterpreted, cardiovascular risk underestimated, and important female-specific risk factors overlooked."

The challenges, she said, extend beyond diagnosis into clinical treatment.

Women face systemic disparities across various care pathways, often receiving less aggressive interventions or fewer specialist referrals compared to male patients with similar conditions.

"Women may be undertreated, with evidence demonstrating disparities in access to investigations, specialist referrals, guideline-directed therapies and cardiovascular interventions in some clinical settings," Dr. Moraa pointed out.

A key factor contributing to these disparities is the historical separation between cardiovascular medicine and reproductive health.

Obstetric complications - such as pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension, and gestational diabetes - are frequently treated as isolated events during pregnancy rather than recognized as critical early indicators of future cardiovascular risk.

To address these vulnerabilities, Dr. Moraa advocates for a fundamental shift toward integrated, multi-specialty healthcare models.

"The symposium seeks to bridge these gaps through evidence-based education, interdisciplinary engagement and stronger clinical pathways," she emphasized.

"We cannot continue treating women's cardiovascular health as an isolated specialty concern. It must become an integral part of healthcare across the entire female life course, from reproductive years through menopause and beyond."

Closing the gap in women's heart health requires active engagement across clinical sectors—integrating reproductive medicine with cardiology, expanding female clinical trial participation, and updating diagnostic protocols to recognize female-specific risk factors.

Ultimately, Dr. Moraa says that the primary objective of the symposium is to bridge modern cardiovascular science with practical, real-world clinical decision-making across Kenya and the broader African healthcare landscape.

To achieve this, the event will draw on global evidence and guidelines - such as those from the European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association - while tailoring them to local contexts.

"Attendees should leave with a clearer understanding of how to incorporate female-specific risk factors into cardiovascular assessment, recognise potentially overlooked clinical presentations, select appropriate diagnostic investigations and initiate timely, guideline-directed treatment," she said.

The Inaugural African Women’s Heart Health Symposium will take place on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 8am to 5pm at the Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi, Kenya.