Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a worldwide gender epidemic that disproportionately affects women. worldwide, 25-50 percent of women report abuse in a personal relationship. And Two out of three victims of IPV are women..
Although each men and women experience abuse by the hands of their partners, Women suffer disproportionately more severe abuse. And Women and girls are more likely to be killed by an intimate partner. than some other member of the society.
The Many Faces of IPV
There are many types of IPV, including sexual, psychological, financial and physical abuse. Injuries related to Mental health consequences of physical violence and abuse commonly known. Women commonly report physical symptoms including chronic pain, sleep disturbances and gastrointestinal problems. These health consequences Long after the abuse is gone, and should not appear until years later.
is certainly one of the common but lesser known consequences of IPV. Increased risk for heart disease.
Heart disease a Leading cause of death for men and women. Abuse survivors of each sexes have increased rates of heart disease, but The increase is higher in women.
Despite the association between IPV and heart disease in women, this association is just not well-known amongst health care professionals.
Cardiovascular risk aspects in IPV survivors
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Common mental health problems amongst abuse survivors – including depression, anxiety and PTSD – Risk factors for heart disease are known.. However, these conditions are related to heart problems in each men and women, while most of the cardiovascular consequences of IPV are specifically linked to women. Emerging figures suggest. Biological responses to mental health stress May be more pronounced in women, a possible explanation for the gender disparity in heart problems after abuse.
Pain can be a trigger for heart disease: individuals with chronic pain Cardiovascular disease rates nearly double. Average IPV is a leading cause of physical injury for women And women who face violence. Double the risk of chronic pain in comparison with those that don't.
Physical injuries related to violence occur in each sexes, but studies typically deal with women being abused. More likely Sustaining physical injuries in comparison with men and that Injuries are more severe in female victims..
Women in danger
Although any certainly one of these consequences of IPV may explain increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, they needn't act in isolation. Mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression and PTSD, Increased sensitivity to painwhich can increase pain sensitivity in women.
Inequalities in medical treatment can also contribute to the high death rate from heart disease amongst women who experience abuse. Signs and symptoms of heart disease may occur. Dismissed or misattributed by both patients and clinicians.. More than half are women. Unaware of their risk for heart diseasewhich can end in them dismissing the symptoms or attributing the symptoms to non-cardiovascular problems.
Importantly, health care providers can be ignored. Broader contextual factors around women's heart health. Bias based on sex and gender Women are also underdiagnosed and treated in accordance with guidelines for heart problems, including delayed and fewer intensive treatment.
Identifying the cardiovascular risks that abuse victims face is a very important step in addressing this emerging crisis. Partnerships between social scientists and health care professionals are critical. making a team to discover women in danger; Develops strategies to speak risks to victims and practitioners. and implements treatments and interventions to scale back the opposed health consequences of IPV, while considering the victim's life circumstances.
A serious obstacle to those projects is the lack of know-how about which biological variables drive the chance of heart problems related to IPV. Although pain and mental health have been linked to cardiovascular health, surprisingly little is understood in regards to the changes throughout the heart that make it more prone to disease.
A call to motion
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The lack of know-how in regards to the relationship between cardiovascular health and IPV reflects the general knowledge gap in women's health.
Heart disease is, and still is, the leading reason behind death for men and girls Most research continues to focus on male laboratory animals and patients.. The focus of research on men is because heart disease may be very different between men and women. Investing in women's health research eg National Women's Health Research Initiative are critical to supporting the fundamental science research needed to grasp risk mechanisms and unique pathology in women in Canada.
The siled nature of research and even clinical practice presents other challenges. The systemic effects of IPV—from physical pain to mental health—demand an integrated health care team that considers the complex interactions amongst the results of abuse. Moreover, IPV needs to be regarded as a A global public health crisis The expertise of social scientists is required to tell relevant and reliable health care support for ladies.
Finally, the systematic problem of Sexism in Science and Medicine must be addressed Ongoing gender bias In Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research. This requires more support for health care professionals to higher understand and advocate for the center health of female patients.
At the identical time, women have to be empowered with the knowledge they should make independent and informed health care decisions, which calls for a major investment in women's health research—a bill that Long overdue.