Discrepancies in Treatment of Heart Attacks between Men and Women

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that women receive somewhat less aggressive treatment during the early management of acute myocardial infarction as compared to the treatment that is received by men. The study also found that women are more likely to be assigned a "do-not-resuscitate" order, or DNR. However, it was not clear from this study whether health care providers are more likely to recommend DNR status for women or whether women are more likely to make this request themselves. Although the differences in treatment found in this study were small and there is no apparent effect on mortality, the results raise questions about how closely doctors follow the guidelines for treating heart attacks in general. Approximately 240, 000 American women die from heart disease every year, a number fivefold higher than that of women who die from breast cancer.

Source

1. Gan SC, Beaver SK, Houck PM, MacLehose RF, Lawson HW, Chan L. N Engl J Med. 2000 Jul 6;343(1):8-15.
2. American Heart Association http://www.americanheart.org.