The alarming results of a study undertaken in France highlighted serious gender differences in cardiac treatment of men and women.  These shocking differences contribute to a higher death rate among women suffering a heart attack.

The French study(1) investigated more than 3,000 patients, 32% women, who had been treated for heart attacks over a two-year period.

Lead author Dr. Francois Schiele, Cardiology Chief at the University Hospital in Besancon, France, presented the results of the research at the American College of Cardiology’s 59th Annual Scientific Session in Atlanta last month. Dr. Schiele’s team found that, on average, the women studied:

• were nine years older than their male counterparts
• were in poorer health
• had been less effectively treated for heart attack
• were almost twice as likely as men to die as a result, whether in the hospital or at home during the month following their heart attack.  Continue reading “Gender differences in heart attack treatment contribute to women’s higher death rates” →