Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

Heart Disease Kills More Women Than All Cancers Combined — 80% of Cardiac Research Is on Men #shorts

30 Sept 2026 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:42

In this YouTube short, Dr. Aaron Hartman highlights the stark gender inequities in cardiovascular health. He states that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, surpassing all cancers combined, yet 80% of participants in cardiac research are men. Women are 50% more likely to receive an incorrect initial diagnosis for a heart attack because emergency and cardiology protocols are based on male presentations. He explains that female hearts differ in size, ejection fraction, and beating patterns, and these differences were not studied until the 1990s. Dr. Hartman emphasizes that addressing these blind spots will take decades, noting that new medical knowledge typically takes 30–50 years to become widespread. He urges viewers who have experienced missed or misdiagnosed cardiovascular issues to share their stories to help educate others, drawing on his own experience of over 100,000 patient encounters to illustrate the value of patient‑derived learning.

Chapters

Heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined. It's the number one killer of women. Yet, 80% of research subjects in cardiovascular studies are men, not women. Does that sound right? This is another example of how medical gaslighting blind spots play into the care of women in our country. Women are 50% more likely to receive the wrong initial diagnosis for heart attack. Why? Because we build cardiology protocols, we build all these things in the emergency rooms and different cardiology clinics based around how men respond or men present with heart issues, not how women do. Women's hearts are structured differently. They're a different size. They have a different ejection fraction. They beat differently. And they also stop working differently. And it wasn't until the 1990s that this was even studied, which is crazy to think about. So, So what does that mean going forward? We have to look at women's health differently. This is a great example of a blind spot in our healthcare system that's now being addressed, which of course we should do, but you have to be proactive. It's going to take decades before this knowledge becomes common across the medical system. It takes anywhere from 30 to 50 years for new research and information to become well-known. And I'm quoting stuff from 40 years ago, so it's still not quite well-known. So if you've had an example of a heart issue, blood pressure, cardiovascular issue that was missed, probably because you're being looked at like a man and you're not? Please share below. I'd be curious on your thoughts. This is also a way that we can actually educate each other. Ultimately, I love pulling from my patients. That's one of the things I learned from. I've seen over 100,000 patient encounters in my career, and you got to learn from people. And that's one of the ways, boots on the ground. But also, it's also where you can actually help educate other people out there. So share below. I'd love to hear from you.