Issues In Gender In The Treatment of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Issues in gender in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction can be complex and include various different health modalities that concern gender. Paper Masters custom writes projects on health issues for nurses and physicians at any level of study.
When it comes to issues of health and medicine, researchers have often taken a "one-size-fits-all" approach to the treatment and diagnosis of disease. Because medical research, up until the past two decades, has focused primarily on male patients diagnostic criteria for assessment and treatment are often predicated on results from these studies. While these models of medical treatment were acceptable over the course of the twentieth century, what medical science has come to realize over the course of research is that when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of patients there are distinct differences between male and female patients. As such new research on female patients and the differences between the two genders is constantly being reviewed in medical literature.
To illustrate this point, one only needs to consider the differences in the diagnosis of males and females with acute myocardial infarction. According to authors "Results of a study of 856 consecutive patients who had myocardial infarctions between 1988 and 1997 show that women are at increased risk of morbidity and mortality following acute myocardial infarction, compared with men. Following admission to a coronary care unit, 14.5 percent of the women and 7.2 percent of the men died". Thus in order for diagnostic criteria and treatment for acute MI to improve, research needs to consider female patients in the overall scope of cardiovascular disease and acute myocardial infarction.
This literature review consists of a comprehensive look at what research as been conducted on the issue of gender in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction in the emergent care setting. Included in this research is the following:
- A brief look at emergent care for acute MI
- An overview of the triage process
- Diagnosis of acute MI
- Differences in treatment protocols for men and women
Because the issue of gender bias in the treatment of acute MU has only recently come to the forefront of emergency medical care, the literature presented on this particular subject provides the most salient available data.
Considering current research that has been conducted on the topic of gender differences in acute MI infarctions, it is clear that there are some discrepancies in treatment based on gender. While these discrepancies have been attribute to a myriad of causative factors-ranging from patient response time to medical stereotypes of acute MI-the reality for the female patient suffering from acute myocardial infarction is often a delay in diagnosis.