Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death for both women and men, but there is growing evidence that women are not always diagnosed and treated in the same way. This systematic review analysed 19 studies to examine gender bias in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
The review found that women’s cardiovascular disease was less often recorded when their symptoms were milder than men’s, or when they were misdiagnosed as digestive or anxiety-related problems. Women were offered fewer diagnostic tests, such as electrocardiograms and coronary angiography, were less often referred to cardiologists or admitted to hospital, and, once in hospital, were less likely to receive coronary interventions. They were also prescribed cardiovascular medicines less often than men, except for medicines for high blood pressure and angina, and saw themselves as being at lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
The authors conclude that women receive fewer diagnostic tests and medicines than men, and link these differences to limited knowledge of how cardiovascular disease presents differently in women and men.
Learn more about this review here: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.54264
Reference:
Al Hamid, A., Beckett, R., Wilson, M., Jalal, Z., Cheema, E., Al-Jumeily, D., Coombs, T., Ralebitso-Senior, K., & Assi, S. (2024). Gender Bias in Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review. Cureus, 16(2), e54264.