Cardiovascular Care in Women Veterans: An Updated Profile.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To provide an updated summary of the burden and care of cardiovascular disease in women veterans.

RECENT FINDINGS

Women veterans can develop atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at a much earlier age of 30 years compared to non-veteran women. Those who experienced chronic stress and environmental exposures were more likely to develop early menopause and premature coronary artery disease. Despite major improvements in therapeutic options for cardiovascular disease, the mortality rate of women veterans continues to rise while that of their counterparts has steadily decreased. Women veterans is the fastest growing group of the veteran population. This is a unique and diverse population with a complex intersection of traditional, sex-specific, and military service-related risks for cardiovascular disease. They have a higher prevalence of both traditional and non-traditional risk factors compared to non-veteran women and are especially impacted by depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome, military sexual trauma, and housing instability.