The worldwide gendered epidemic of intimate partner violence (IPV) disproportionately affects women. Two out of three victims of intimate partner violence are women, and 25–50% of women worldwide report experiencing abuse in a personal relationship.
Intimate relationship violence affects both men and women, but it disproportionately affects women, and women and girls are more likely than any other group in society to be killed by an intimate partner.
The various facets of IPV
IPV can take many different forms, such as physical, financial, psychological, and sexual abuse. It is well established that physical violence can cause injuries, and that abuse can have negative effects on mental health. Physical symptoms such as gastrointestinal problems, sleep disturbances, and persistent pain are frequently reported by women. Even once misuse has stopped, these health effects might persist and show up years later.
One of IPV’s frequent but little-known effects is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
One of the main causes of death for both men and women is cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular illness is more common among survivors of abuse of both sexes, but it is more prevalent in women.
Even among medical professionals, there is little awareness of the association between IPV and cardiovascular illness in women.
PTSD, anxiety, and depression are among the common mental health conditions that survivors of abuse face, and they are recognized risk factors for cardiovascular disease. While many of the cardiovascular effects of IPV are unique to women, these disorders are connected to cardiovascular disease in both men and women. According to new research, women may have a more marked physiologic reaction to mental health stressors, which could account for the gender differences in cardiovascular disease after maltreatment.
Heart disease is also triggered by pain: those who experience chronic pain have heart disease rates that are almost twice as high as the general population. Women who suffer violence are twice as likely to develop chronic pain as those who do not, and intimate partner abuse is one of the main causes of physical harm to women.
Although both sexes can receive physical injuries as a result of violence, research typically indicates that female abuse victims are more likely than male victims to suffer bodily harm, and that these injuries are more serious.
Women in danger
Although any of these IPV-related effects could account for a rise in the prevalence and mortality of cardiovascular disease, they don’t have to operate together. Women may be more sensitive to pain than men because mental health disorders like anxiety, sadness, and PTSD make people more sensitive to pain.
The increased rates of cardiovascular disease mortality among abused women may possibly be attributed to disparities in medical care. Both patients and doctors may ignore or incorrectly ascribe signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Women may ignore symptoms or attribute them to non-cardiovascular problems because over half of them are ignorant of their risk for cardiovascular disease.
Crucially, medical professionals might also ignore more extensive contextual elements related to women’s heart health. Women are also not treated according to standards, which include delayed and less aggressive therapies, because of sex and gender-based prejudice in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease.
Finding the cardiovascular risks that abuse victims experience is a crucial first step in resolving this new epidemic. In order to identify women who are at risk, develop strategies to educate victims and practitioners about the risks, and implement treatments and interventions to reduce the negative health consequences of IPV while taking the victim’s life circumstances into account, partnerships between social scientists and health care professionals are essential.
The lack of knowledge regarding the biological alterations linked to IPV that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease is a major barrier to these goals. Surprisingly little is known about the alterations in the heart that make it more prone to disease, despite the documented links between pain and mental health and cardiovascular health.
A call to action
A reflection of the general knowledge gap in women’s health is the paucity of information regarding the relationship between IPV and cardiovascular health.
Despite being a major cause of death for both men and women, the majority of research on cardiovascular disease still focuses on male patients and laboratory animals. Given the significant differences in cardiovascular disease between males and females, research on males is alarming. The National Women’s Health Research Initiative in Canada is one example of an investment in women’s health research that is essential to advancing the fundamental science studies required to comprehend the mechanisms of risk and the distinct pathology in women.
There are further difficulties since medical practice and research are compartmentalized. A coordinated health care team that takes into account the intricate relationships between the repercussions of abuse is necessary due to the systemic impacts of IPV, which range from physical discomfort to mental health issues. Furthermore, IPV should be viewed as a worldwide public health emergency that calls for social scientists’ knowledge to provide women with appropriate and trustworthy medical assistance.
Lastly, the persistent gender bias in cardiology and cardiovascular research must be addressed in order to solve the systemic problem of sexism in science and medicine. In order to effectively understand and advocate for the heart health of female patients, health care workers need more support.
At the same time, women must be equipped with the knowledge necessary to make autonomous and knowledgeable decisions about their health care, which necessitates a large investment in women’s health research—a long-overdue bill.