New partnership a win for women’s heart health

Media release: Thursday 6 March 2025

Heart Foundation and Her Heart join forces to improve the heart health of women in Australia

Women in Australia have a strong advocate for women’s heart disease this International Women’s Day, with two of the most prominent voices in women’s heart health joining forces.

The Heart Foundation and Her Heart today announce their first-ever partnership, uniting their efforts to reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease in women and drive change more effectively.

Heart disease in Australian women remains under-recognised, underdiagnosed, and under-researched, despite being a leading cause of death—claiming nearly one woman’s life every hour¹.

Through this partnership, both organisations will enhance efforts to raise awareness of women’s heart disease, improve treatment and prevention strategies, and lead crucial research into gender-specific health initiatives.

A National Report Card created by Her Heart and published in 2023 analysed all the research in the area of cardiovascular disease in women and found more than half (54 per cent) had never seen their doctor for a general hearth health check and 91 per cent believed there was not enough public awareness around women and heart disease².

Heart disease research and treatments often overlook the unique risks women face. The Heart Foundation is currently funding 109 projects led by women researchers, including 12 projects focused specifically on women's heart health.

Heart Foundation funded researcher Sarah Zaman, an Associate Professor at The Westmead Applied Research Centre within the University of Sydney specialising in women’s heart health, said the partnership was good news for women.

“Heart disease in general has historically been thought of as a male disease and so when people picture the classical person having a heart attack, they might think of a middle-aged man having a heart attack.

"However, what we now know is that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women on a global scale and there’s female predominant causes of heart attacks. These types of heart attacks have been really under researched and under-recognised.

“The Heart Foundation and Her Heart are the two organisations making the biggest impact in Australia in this space, so together they will accomplish even greater things.”

The new Heart Foundation and Her Heart partnership will:

• raise awareness of women’s heart disease through targeted campaigns and accessible resources.
• advocate for gender-specific research, funding, and healthcare policies.
• support community-led initiatives that drive better prevention, diagnosis, and care.

Quotes attributable to Her Heart Founder and CEO Professor Linda Worrall-Carter:

“We are proud to partner with the Heart Foundation to drive real change for women’s heart health. By combining our expertise, we can amplify awareness, improve early detection, and ensure women receive the care they deserve.

“This partnership brings together two leading organisations dedicated to improving cardiovascular health. By working together, we can accelerate progress in research, prevention, and advocacy, ultimately saving more women’s lives.

Women’s heart disease has been under-recognised for too long. Partnering with the Heart Foundation allows us to strengthen our impact, ensuring more women have access to the education, resources, and support they need to protect their heart health.

Professor Linda Worrall-Carter

Her Heart Founder and CEO

Quotes attributable to Heart Foundation CEO David Lloyd:

“The Heart Foundation is committed to improving heart health outcomes for women. We continue to implement a range of actions to raise awareness, develop healthcare professional information and resources and invest in research to address current gaps in knowledge about heart disease in women."

The Heart Foundation is thrilled to align with Her Heart in a new partnership that aims to reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease in women in this country.

David Lloyd

CEO Heart Foundation

“This partnership strengthens our shared commitment to increase awareness of women’s heart health, fuel further research and advocate for equity. Importantly, our collaboration will mean that more community-led initiatives receive the support and resources needed to help prevent more women from developing heart disease and care, education and support for those who experience it.”