Eligible Women Less Likely than Men to Receive Heart Devices

Monday, November 08, 2004

The investigators examined electronically stored doctors' notes in patient records from the first eight cardiology practices in the nationwide ACTion: Women's Heart Health Study. Previous studies have shown a survival benefit from ICDs in patients who have had a previous heart attack and consequently have weak pumping function, because these patients have an increased risk of developing fatal heart rhythms.

"While more women than men have died of heart disease in the U.S. each year since 1984, they receive fewer preventive services and cardiac interventions than men," says Sharonne Hayes, M.D., Director of the Mayo Clinic Women's Heart Clinic and one of the study's leaders. "We know historically that women have received only about 20 percent of implantable defibrillators, even though about 240,000 women each year experience a sudden cardiac death episode. In our investigation we therefore expected to find gender differences in access to ICD therapy, and this proved to be the case."

During the two-year period ending in May 2004, only 1,088 (35 percent) of the 3,100 patients in the eight cardiology practices who met the criteria (MADIT I or MADIT II) for an ICD or a related device received one. While 39 percent (927/2403) of the eligible men received device therapy, only 23 percent (161/697) of the women with indications were treated. Data on patient's age were available in half of the ACTion practices and no significant difference was observed between men (71.8) and women (70.0).

"We need more research to verify these findings and learn the reasons why ICD therapy is so underutilized among eligible women," says Dr. Hayes. "Hopefully this research will spur development of strategies to ensure that women have equal access to beneficial treatments." Dr. Hayes' collaborators on the study included Sana Al-Khatib, M.D. from Duke University and Teresa De Marco, M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco.

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To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. MayoClinic.com is available as a resource for your health stories.