AHA Scientific Statement: Only 33% of annual PCIs are performed in women

President Clinton’s stent surgery brought new focus to America’s number-one killer, but it did little to expose the bias that is often present when women seek treatment for a heart attack.

“In the face of a rising mortality burden in women with cardiovascular disease, [still] PCI is performed less frequently and with greater delays in women”

“Despite the fact that more women than men die from cardiovascular disease in the United States, and despite the established benefits of PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary angioplasty) in reducing fatal and nonfatal ischemic complications in patients with acute myocardial infarction and high-risk acute coronary syndromes (ACS), only an estimated 33 percent of annual PCIs are performed in women,” says an American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Statement.

“In the face of a rising mortality burden in women with cardiovascular disease, [still] PCI is performed less frequently and with greater delays in women,” says the AHA. LUMEN 2010 brings together professionals and physicians on the front lines of heart attack care to address this disparity and bring about community improvement in heart attack care across the nation.

What: LUMEN 2010

When: Thursday, February 25, 2010 thru Saturday, February 27, 2010

Who: Noted physicians and clinicians *see list

Where: Loews Miami Beach Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida

FACTS About Florida and Heart Disease:

• Heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases are the No. 1 killer of women in Florida.
• Heart disease and stroke account for 33.4% of all female deaths in Florida.
• On average, nearly 76 females die from heart disease and stroke in Florida each day.
• Hispanic women generally have higher rates of certain cardiovascular risk factors – including physical inactivity, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome – than white women, and are less likely to have detected or treated them.

SOURCE American Heart Association