Gender Differences in the Management of Coronary Artery Disease: Bias or Good Clinical Judgment?

Excerpt

Two articles in this issue of Annals rekindle the debate over the existence of gender bias in the management of patients with coronary artery disease (1, 2). The central questions are as follows: Are diagnostic and therapeutic approaches different in men and women? If so, are there defensible clinical reasons for this difference? and Are the outcomes associated with such differences in diagnosis and treatment also discrepant? Investigators searching for bias have focused on "hard" measures such as the use of invasive diagnostic procedures and referral for coronary artery bypass surgery. However, the relation among diagnosis, treatment, and outcome may