AHA urges earlier diagnoses, referrals for PC...( rofile she said. Typically women wh...),Health

rofile," she said. "Typically women who are referred for PCI have smaller vessels; they also have more diabetes and hypertension and are usually eight to 10 years older than men who are referred. In addition, women usually delay seeking treatment, so much so that women who have heart attacks will seek help 30 to 60 minutes later than their male counterparts. It is these factors, rather than gender, that contribute to a higher risk of death in women, and shouldn't preclude women from having these potentially life-saving treatments.

"In fact, once women are referred for PCI, the rate of blood vessels being successfully re-opened is similar to that in men," she said. The statement does not present specific recommendations for physicians, but compiles the latest evidence about the effectiveness of PCI in women. The panel identified three important areas for improving women's treatment:

Diagnosis and early referral for treatment. Women face great delays for stenting or angioplasty. By contrast, men are usually promptly referred for these procedures for suspected cardiovascular disease. The goal should be the same for women.

Further research to optimize therapy for patients with diabetes and small vessel coronary disease -- two conditions prevalent in the female population.

More refined treatment pathways and strategies for women with ST elevation myocardial infarction (severe heart attack in which an artery is completely blocked) where death rates and bleeding risk is higher than in men.

Noting that the new statement is based on analysis of gender-specific evidence compiled in clinical trials over the last two decades, Lansky said more such trials are needed. "Our statement is based on the gender-specific evidence we have available to us as health care professionals. However, to truly improve outcomes in women, we need to recruit more women in future clinical trials, as female representation has been 38 percent at best, and o
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Contact: Carole Bullock
carole.bullock@heart.org
214-706-1279
American Heart Association
1-Feb-2005


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