Cardiovascular Knowledge Deficits in Disadvantaged Communities

Purpose: Although women are at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), many are not aware of the symptoms and risk factors. This study examines CVD knowledge in women from disadvantaged communities in Jerusalem.

Methods: As part of a CVD health literacy program in disadvantaged women`s support groups in Jerusalem, women from 5 different neighborhoods completed questionnaires regarding CVD knowledge. Questionnaires assessed knowledge of CVD risk factors and symptoms.

Results: 85 women (age range 53-85) filled out questionnaires. Of these women, 45.6% did not matriculate high school, 45% had a high school or a non-academic diploma, and 8.8% had a BA. Most women identified weight (92.6%), smoking (97.5%), lack of physical activity (92.3%), nutrition (93.5%), cholesterol (90.1%), blood pressure (88.9%) and stress (91.1%) as CVD risk factors. Fewer women identified diabetes (83.3%), family history (77.8%) and menopause (70%) as CVD risk factors, and only 65.3% identified passive smoking as CVD a risk factor. Of these, 31.8% of the women correctly identified all CVD risk factors. Most Women identified chest pain (95.7%) and chest pressure (81.2%) as symptoms of heart disease, and ~ half of the women identified fatigue (50.7%), dizziness (56.5%), shoulder, arm, or neck pain (52.2%), and shortness of breath (52.2%) as heart attack symptoms. Of these, 30.1% of the women identified all heart attack symptoms.

Conclusions: This study investigated cardiovascular health literacy in disadvantaged women in several neighborhoods in Jerusalem. Most women knew that chest pain was associated with heart attack, but knowledge of other symptoms of heart disease was lacking. Most women could identify several of the major risk factors for CVD, although knowledge was lacking with regard to passive smoking, menopause and diabetes. Programs designed to increase CVD knowledge in disadvantaged women should address knowledge gaps.