title: Between mind and heart: Sex-based cognitive bias in cardiovascular disease treatment.
abstract: Given that both men and women experience cardiovascular disease (CVD), a common misconception is that they have similar risk factors and clinical presentation, receive comparable treatment, and have equivalent clinical outcomes; in reality differences are observed between men and women for each of these endpoints. Moreover, these differences occur as a function of both gender and sex. A review of the literature reveals widespread bias in the selection of research subjects based on these factors, in addition to implicit patient and provider biases that impede the access of women to recommended primary and secondary CVD management. In this perspective, we identify strategies to eliminate such biases and improve women's access to CVD treatments to ensure their care is consistent with current guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Health Psychology Program, Boston, MA, United States. Electronic address: amanda.kentner@mcphs.edu.
authors.forename: Amanda C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Kentner
authors.affiliation: York University, School of Kinesiology and Health Science, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University Health Network, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Sherry L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Grace
mesh_terms: D015982:Bias; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Cardiovascular disease treatment; Cardiovascular rehabilitation; Gender disparity; Implicit bias; Sex differences