Only 28 percent are women: Something is wrong with this system
Professor Eva Gerdts believes that these figures raise questions about whether women are gaining adequate access to specialist care.
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At Arendalsuka, Professor Eva Gerdts gave a presentation on the lack of equitable care for women with heart failure in Norway. Women account for only 28 per cent of the patients treated by leading heart failure specialists at outpatient heart failure clinics, which have been established at 39 hospitals across the country. This is despite the fact that more women than men are living with heart failure. This represents a challenge to the principle of equal access to healthcare and is clearly documented by data from the 2026 report of the Norwegian Cardiovascular Disease Registry and the annual report of the Norwegian Heart Failure Registry.
Knowledge gaps among the general public, female patients, primary healthcare professionals, and specialist healthcare professionals must be addressed. Improving heart failure care for women requires accessible information for the general public through regularly updated public health websites, up-to-date teaching in health professional education programmes, and, importantly, continuing professional development for the current healthcare workforce.