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Pregnant and lactating women should be included in clinical trials for cardiovascular disease

Nature Medicine volume 29, pages 1897–1899 (2023)Cite this article

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Women who are pregnant, lactating or of childbearing potential are commonly excluded from cardiovascular randomized controlled trials — this needs to change.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

    Elnaz Assadpour

  2. Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Harriette G. C. Van Spall

  3. Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Harriette G. C. Van Spall

  4. Population Health Research Institute, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Harriette G. C. Van Spall

  5. Research Institute of St. Joseph’s, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

    Harriette G. C. Van Spall

Authors
  1. Elnaz Assadpour
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  2. Harriette G. C. Van Spall
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Harriette G. C. Van Spall.

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Competing interests

H.G.C.V. serves on several international committees that aim to enhance representativeness in clinical trials, leads clinical trials funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and has no related financial or other competing interests. E.A. declares no competing interests.

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Assadpour, E., Van Spall, H.G.C. Pregnant and lactating women should be included in clinical trials for cardiovascular disease. Nat Med 29, 1897–1899 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02416-2

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