Every year, nearly one million people die from heart disease.

The numbers are pretty even between men and women, but the warning signs can be different. 

CEO of Womenheart.org, Celina Gorre is a heart patient, herself. She went to the hospital nearly a dozen times for fatigue and neck swelling, each time she was sent home undiagnosed.

"The conclusion of those ER docs was that I was having a particularly hard day," Gorre said.

Studies show gender makes a difference in testing and treatment. If women are tested for the wrong thing, they could go undiagnosed.

Cardio Microvascular Dysfunction occurs almost exclusively in women, if they're tested only for large artery disease, then doctors will miss CMD, a relatively easy test.

"So, it's very simple. It's an additional five to seven minutes extra on top of a regular diagnostic cardiac catheterization," Interventional Cardiologist at Medstar Washington Hospital Center Haydar Hashim said.

Doctors often don't test for CMD because it wasn't an official diagnosis.

Dr. Hashim testified before the Centers for Disease Control last year in an effort to change that, and he was successful.

"The CDC approved it as a diagnosis, as of Oct. 1, 2023, that this disease of the micro circulation of the capillaries, is now a recognized diagnosis," Dr. Hashim said.

The change is good news for both Gorre and the 65 percent of heart patients with CMD who otherwise would go undiagnosed and untreated.

Dr. Hashim and his colleagues are compiling a registry of cardio microvascular patients. They'll use it to track symptoms and diagnoses so it can become a national database.

Clinicians and researchers can then use that data to get more information on Cardio Microvascular Dysfunction.