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Women often overlooked in heart disease studies - OR Nursing Law

Many of the therapies used to treat women for coronary heart disease (CHD) are based on studies conducted predominantly on men, according to a July 10, 2003, news release from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Coronary heart disease causes more than 250,000 women's deaths each year, but much of the research on diagnosis and treatment of CHD conducted during the last 20 years has included only limited numbers of women or excluded women completely.

Even when CHD studies include women, published research often does not provide findings specific to women. Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco/Stanford Evidence-based Practice Center, San Francisco, found that only 20% of research articles on CHD provided separate findings about women. Those studies that did provide gender-specific findings indicated the following.

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* Fair to good evidence suggests that the use of diagnostic tests and treatments differ by gender. Men are more Likely than women to undergo testing and treatment for CHD, but women are more likely to be treated for hypertension.

* Fair to good evidence suggests that beta-blockers, aspirin, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors reduce risk for CHD events.

* Good evidence suggests that women who undergo treatment for hypertension lower their risk for CHD events. These benefits may be greater for African-American women.

* Fair evidence suggests that women who stop smoking after a heart attack lower their risk for CHD.

* Fair evidence suggests that women who receive glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor medications during coronary procedures benefit from this treatment; however, good evidence suggests that the use of these medications for women with acute coronary syndromes may be associated with increased risk of death. Men with acute coronary syndromes appear to benefit from use of these medications.

The researchers recommend that in addition to requiring participation of women in research, funding and regulatory agencies should request that outcome data be analyzed by gender, race, and ethnicity and that these results be made clear in published findings.

Lack of Studies on Women Limits Usefulness of Research on Coronary Heart Disease (news release, Rockville, Md: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, July 10, 2003).

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Women often overlooked in heart disease studies - OR Nursing Law

AORN Journal, Nov, 2003

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