Study: Angio misses heart disease in women

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

A series of new studies claims that the gold standard for diagnostic cardiac imaging -- x-ray angiography -- actually misses heart disease in millions of women because its clinical presentation on angiograms is different from that of men.

In a special supplement published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers with the Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) trial found that plaque distribution in many women is often fundamentally different from that of men.

In these women, plaque tends to be spread throughout the coronary arteries, rather than concentrated in a single location that can be easily spotted on an angiogram. As a result, x-ray angiograms of these women often appear normal, and they do not receive the immediate intervention that could prevent a heart attack later on.

In another study on women and heart disease appearing in Circulation, European researchers found significant differences between how men and women were referred for imaging tests when presenting with symptoms of heart disease. Cardiac angiography in particular was used far less often in women than in men, the researchers found.

Read all about the studies causing a stir this week in medicine by clicking here, or visit our Women's Imaging Digital Community, at women.auntminnie.com.