Gender bias in cardiology: are women missing out on PTCA?
The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in the ages of women and men who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), in the duration of PTCA procedures performed on women and men and in the percentage of women and men treated with PTCA relative to the gender distribution of deaths attributed to coronary heart disease. The study was conducted as a retrospective audit of the operation records of 959 PTCA procedures performed over a two year period in a cardiology clinic in a Sydney teaching hospital. Results indicate that, on average, women were older than men when they underwent PTCA, that the average duration of the procedure was longer for women than men and that disproportionately fewer women aged 65 and over were treated with PTCA. The results suggest that gender bias in the delivery of PTCA cannot be discounted and that further research is needed on the clinical needs of women with coronary heart disease.
Hildon
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D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D016387:Women's Health