Undertreatment of Heart Disease Among Women

Doctors often fail to prescribe aspirin, beta blockers (to treat high blood pressure) and cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to women who suffer heart attacks, even though the medications have been shown to prevent further heart attacks or other heart trouble.

In a recent study of female heart attack survivors, women with five or more risk factors - those at greatest risk for heart attack or stroke - appeared to be the least likely to receive aspirin or statins.¹

In another study, only 21% of female patients with coronary artery disease were reported to be taking aspirin.²

In a third study, only 36% of women with a reported history of CVD reported using aspirin.³

The problem of underutilization of treatment strategies in women is not limited to drug therapy.

Research suggests that during routine healthcare visits, women are less likely than men to be counseled regarding nutrition, physical activity and weight reduction.⁴

Although not limited to women, it has been reported that less than 50% of adults are assessed for smoking status during routine primary care visits, and of these only 50% are advised to quit.³

A minority of women participate in cardiac rehabilitation programs after either heart attack (6.9%) or coronary artery bypass surgery (20.2%) and, thus, are less likely to receive and benefit from intensive risk factor management.³

¹Vittinghoff e. Shlipak MG, Varosy PD, et al. Risk factors and secondary prevention in women with heart disease: The Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study. Annals of Internal Medicine 2003 Jan. 21;138:81-89
²Stafford RS. Aspirin use is low among United States outpatients with coronary artery disease. Circulation 2000;101:1097-1101.
³Cook NR, Chae C, Mueller FB, et al. Mis-medication and under-utilization of aspirin in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Medscape General Medicine, November 30, 1999. [http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/408025]
⁴King KB, Mosca L. Prevention of heart disease in women: Recommendations for management of risk factors. Progress in Cardiovascular Nursing 2000;15(2):36-42.