As a cardiac genetic counsellor at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Associate Professor Jodie Ingles has more than 20 years’ experience working with families with inherited heart disease.

She knows more than most about the challenges facing women in the heart health space – and she’s committed to research that will improve gender equality in heart disease outcomes.

Jodie says that in the field of heart health, a lack of female representation in studies, means there isn’t enough evidence to treat women as effectively as men.

“In heart health, we know that women present later, they present at a more advanced stage,” Jodie explains. “But women get treated based on guidelines that were put together from studies that use majority male cohorts.”

In her new research project, NSW Hearts, Jodie is determined to help stop the disparity in outcomes by collecting data that illustrates the female experience of heart disease.