Gender Bias in Cardiac Care

Myocardial infarctions are the number one killer of women in the US, yet women who experience cardiac symptoms are less likely than men to receive urgent assessment, testing, diagnosis, or treatment. Women present differently than men in the case of myocardial infarctions, but they are still being evaluated based on male standards. In seeking to make patient care more equitable, it is crucial that we not only acknowledge biological differences, but that we assess and treat them accordingly. By implementing gender specific cardiac risk assessment tools, we may begin to increase the incidence of timely and accurate diagnoses of myocardial infarctions, while decreasing those of poor morbidity and mortality among women.