Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Coronary heart disease, which is the most common type of heart disease, is the number-one killer of women in the United States. Awareness of the prevalence of heart disease in women is increasing, but awareness is lower in younger women and in minorities. It has been suggested that women are being misdiagnosed because their symptoms may differ from those experienced by men. However, a recent study in which heart-attack diagnoses were made based on chest-pain characteristics (CPCs) such as location of pain/discomfort, onset and degree of pain, and pain radiation to other parts of the body concluded that these parameters alone are not powerful enough to confirm diagnosis. Sex-specific differences in CPC symptoms among women and men are subjective, and the exact differences remain unclear.
Introduction
The term heart disease comprises numerous cardiovascular conditions, including coronary artery disease (CAD), cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease (CHD), heart attack, and acute myocardial infarction (MI). Many of these conditions are related to atherosclerosis or blood clots in the coronary arteries.[1] A woman having a heart attack is more likely than a man to die.[2] It has been suggested that physicians may be misdiagnosing women more often because their symptoms may differ from those experienced by men. Although about 90% of patients with acute MI present with chest pain or discomfort, some patients present without typical chest pain. Sex-specific differences in symptoms are claimed and may be worth noting, but may not be reliable across the population.[3] The purpose of this article is to examine literature reports on differences in heart-attack symptoms that may exist between men and women.
US Pharmacist © 2014 Jobson Publishing
