Introduction
Women with Heart Valve Disease (HVD) remain under-recognised, under-diagnosed, and under-treated worldwide. Clinical guidelines and care pathways have historically reflected male-centric data, overlooking the biological, reproductive, and social factors influencing women's health.
Purpose
The aim was to build a global consensus by integrating patients voices with multidisciplinary expertise to identify gaps and solutions for improving the healthcare pathway for women with HVD.
Methods
A mixed qualitative approach was applied, combining semi-structured interviews with patients, patient organisations, healthcare professionals and researchers. Insights were further refined during an in-person international roundtable. The recruitment was done by Global Heart Hub and involved 22 experts from 13 countries. Discussions focused on challenges and opportunities to advance awareness, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up for women with HVD and the findings were synthesised into a consensus report.
Results
Among all participants, 40.9% (n=9) were patients or patient representatives. By integrating their perspective, stakeholders were able to discuss the gaps and develop six targeted actions to promote education, empowerment and engagement across the HVD care pathway in women. A roadmap was grounded in women's lived challenges, and the recommendations were designed to be adaptable to diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts, ensuring global impact. To facilitate implemention, the key stakeholders for each action were identified, and the recommendations were organized whithin a multilevel framework (micro, meso and macro), aligned with healthcare system design.
Conclusions
This consensus report highlights the importance of women's education, empowerment and engagement, calling for collaborative action to advance person-centred care, reduce inequities, and ensure women with HVD are recognised, represented, and supported throughout their care journey.