Men with chest pain get faster, more medical attention than women

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In a study from NYU Langone Health, scientists found that in younger adults visiting the emergency department for chest pain, women may be getting the short end of the stick.

Compared with men of similar age, women were triaged less urgently, waited longer to be seen, and were less likely to undergo basic tests or be hospitalized or admitted for observation to diagnose a heart attack.

The study is the first to examine emergency room management of chest pain specifically among younger adults (age 18-55 years).

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women and is becoming more common in younger adults.

About one-third of women who were hospitalized for a heart attack in the past two decades were under the age of 55, a proportion that has grown in recent years.

Chest discomfort is the most common symptom of a heart attack in both men and women, but research shows that women can have a broader range of accompanying symptoms that may not initially be recognized as a sign of a heart attack.

Chest discomfort caused by a heart attack can be perceived as pain, pressure, tightness, or another uncomfortable sensation.

In the study, researchers used data collected by the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey between 2014-2018.

They extrapolated the data to represent an estimated 29 million emergency department visits for chest pain in the U.S. among adults aged 18-55; women comprised nearly 57% of those visits.

The team found that women reporting chest pain were equally likely to arrive at the hospital by ambulance but significantly less likely than men to be triaged as emergent.

On average, women waited about 11 minutes longer to be evaluated by a clinician.

Women were also much less likely to undergo an electrocardiogram (EKG), the standard initial test used to diagnose a heart attack, or to receive cardiac monitoring or be seen by a consultant, such as a cardiologist.

Medical guidelines recommend that all patients with possible heart attack symptoms receive an EKG within 10 minutes of arrival in the emergency department to minimize the time for treatment.

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The study was conducted by Darcy Banco et al and presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 70th Annual Scientific Session.

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