Written by Moira McCarthy on February 22, 2021 Fact checked by Jennifer Chesak
According to a new study, women who have a female cardiologist may have better treatment outcomes than those who see a male doctor. Luis Alvarez/Getty Images
A new study concludes that women with heart health issues get better treatment if they’re seen by a female cardiologist.
Experts say female doctors simply understand female patients better than men do.
They say it’s important to improve medical training for both male and female cardiology students.
When it comes to long-term outcomes in heart health, the gender of your cardiologist may play a role in how well things go.
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Female physicians have better patient outcomes compared with their male peers, while female patients are less likely to receive guideline-recommended care when treated by a male physician, according to a systematic review from the American College of Cardiology s Cardiovascular Disease in Women section published today in the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
While women make up over 50% of internal medicine residents, only 12.6% of cardiologists are female. A dedicated effort to increase diversity in the cardiovascular field could help to lower implicit bias, often considered an important factor in health care disparities.
In a detailed systematic review, researchers looked at 13 studies examining the patient-physician gender relationship across multiple specialties and its role in the care patients receive. Of these, eight studies examined patient outcomes based on physician gender. The researchers found data supporting the suggestion that a patient s ou
Cholesterol. You’ve heard of it, you know it’s important, and you think it has something to do with your heart. So far, you’re on the right track. But what if we told you that both gender and aging play a role in determining your cholesterol profile and thus, your overall cardiovascular risk throughout your life?
Umm, say what?
New research in the journal
Circulation examines the role of menopause in heart disease risk and reveals something pretty astounding: This midlife transition marks an increase in LDL levels in the body, ultimately contributing to an elevated heart disease risk for women. What’s more, this is true no matter the age you go through menopause your 50s (as the majority of women do), your 40s, or even your 30s.