On February 4, 2025, after a hugely successful Heart Health IS Women’s Health Summit and Wenger Awards, WomenHeart’s Advocacy Corps members took to the Hill to meet with their Congress members on key priorities. WomenHeart brought 67 advocates to Washington D.C., and they conducted 99 visits along with additional policy Leave Behind drop-offs hitting 231 targeted districts. Advocates also raised awareness of heart disease in women with fact sheets and National Wear Red Day (Feb. 7) buttons and postcards.

While WomenHeart works with partners on many policy priorities nationally and in states, our 2025 Advocacy Day included the following priorities:

As all advocates know, our work is not done after one event, and WomenHeart will continue work on all three priorities, particularly women’s health research funding as that is currently under threat with cuts and freezes for the NIH. Look out for ways that you can get involved in supporting these issues.

2025 Budget and Women's Health Research

Currently Congress members are working to pass a budget by March to avoid government shut down. This is a critical time for WomenHeart advocates and other advocacy groups across the nation to weigh in on budget priorities.

Given recent cancellation of NIH programs, freezes and cuts in NIH funding and their consequences (read more), and in our role on the

Steering Committee for the Friends of the Offices of Women’s Health Research (OWHR), we have significant concerns that the progress made in 2024 on funding for and progress in women’s heart health within the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research and across the NIH, will be reversed.

In 2024, much progress was made in the area of women’s heart health research by WomenHeart and partner organizations; however, women’s heart health research remains severely underfunded making up only 1.2% of NIH funding. Investments in this funding can help reduce the $200 billion cost of cardiovascular disease for women, including healthcare costs, lost productivity, and premature mortality, and generates billions of dollars in economic activity for the U.S. ($92.89 billion in 2023).

Let your voice be heard and contact your Congress members today. Find your members of Congress HERE.

Opportunity for Public Comment and Roundtables

WomenHeart encourages all patients to play an active role in their care and treatment options, and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has created opportunities for patients to become involved in discussions on drug pricing.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act’s “Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program (MDPNP),” the federal government is now permitted to set Medicare prices for certain medicines. Prices (known as the maximum fair price, or MFP) for the first 10 drugs selected for price setting were announced on August 8th, 2024. An additional 15 drugs will be subject to price controls starting on January 1, 2027. More information on participation and the list of medications is available in Appendix A below, and at this LINK.

If you would like to comment on any of these drugs, you can do so HERE by March 1.

CMS also will host a series of public engagement events this spring. The virtual public engagement events will provide an opportunity for patients, beneficiaries, caregivers, consumer and patient organizations, and other interested parties, such as clinicians and researchers, to share input relevant to drugs selected for the second cycle of negotiations. The roundtable events will be held April 16 – April 29, 2025, and the town hall will be held Wednesday, April 30, 2025. Participant registration will be open until March 12, 2025. Please find more information HERE.

Michelle Sheely

This spotlight goes to Michelle Sheely. Michelle was recently featured in The Castro Valley Forum article “CV Woman Promotes Women’s Heart Health at the US Capitol” highlighting her advocacy work during WomenHeart’s Advocacy Day, particularly her advocacy for women’s heart health research.

Michelle says, “It’s my mission to save as many women from heart disease as I can and educate my community that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. More importantly, I wanted to let my community know they have an ally fighting for women’s health where it matters most, Washington DC.” 

We encourage all advocates to share their stories with local papers and other publications, radio, and other media outlets to amplify our message and to let people know about the great work you are doing to improve the lives of women living with and at risk of heart disease. 

We know that women continue to be underrepresented in cardiovascular disease (CVD) clinical trials (currently, women make up around 30% of CVD trial participants), and WomenHeart continues to work to change this trend. Logistical barriers can impede trial participation as women are often the primary caregivers for children and/or aging parents in addition to working and as such may struggle to balance those responsibilities with that of a clinical trial commitment.

WomenHeart encourages investigators and those designing trials to involve women from the very beginning so that trials can be designed to improve chances of trial participation among women. A recent article on this issue, “Women want to participate in clinical trials. Lack of flexibility is still a problem,” states that even small changes can boost participation. LEARN MORE

WomenHeart works with investigators, industry and as advisors in clinical trials and helps those designing and leading trials explore ways to encourage increased women participation in many ways including by improving flexibility of trial appointments. This might include early morning/evening/weekend appointment times, telehealth visits, and labs or tests performed at a local community facility as opposed to attending the clinical trial site for everything. Clinical trial sites could also provide childcare or child-friendly environment.

ENACT

WomenHeart has recently released new clinical trial resources as part of its ENACT (Empower, Navigate, Activate for Clinical Trials) program in partnership with The Mended Hearts, Inc. This program is designed to help patients find and navigate through clinical trials so they are more likely to participate and stay in trials that may improve their health. In 2025, WomenHeart will develop and share additional resources, so women have the information and support they need as they navigate their clinical trial journey, including the emotional aspects of participation.

Sponsored

The ENACT program is generously sponsored by Cytokinetics.

The CORALreef Outcomes clinical research study is testing an investigational medication in adults to learn about how it works to lower cholesterol and see if it reduces cardiovascular events compared to a placebo. You may be able to take part in this study if you are at least 18 years of age, have high cholesterol, and have had or are at risk of having a major cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke. You must also be taking medication and/or supplements to lower your cholesterol. Learn more at CORALreef Outcomes - Merck Clinical Trials

WomenHeart’s Advocacy Corps is a program made up of WomenHeart Champions—women who have lived experiences with heart disease and are trained to share their stories and advocate for better health for all women. Advocacy Corps allows women’s stories and advocacy activities to be coordinated and amplified for greater impact so WomenHeart can meaningfully engage in advocacy initiatives that improve the lives of women living with and at risk of heart disease.

WomenHeart Champions who are part of Advocacy Corps receive:

If you are a WomenHeart Champion and would like to learn more, you can email us at [email protected] or contact Jodi Smith at [email protected].

Advocacy Corps would not be possible without the generous support of our Advocacy Corps sponsors:

Bristol Myers Squibb®

CORALreef Outcomes

Merck

Our Contact Information
WomenHeart
712 H Street, NE, Suite 2201
Washington, DC 20002
202-728-7199
http://www.womenheart.org