Is Treatment of CHD Different in Women?

The methods for treating CHD are generally the same for men and women. But it’s been found that women may not receive the appropriate type of treatment as often as men.

• Women may delay seeking treatment for symptoms of heart attack, preventing them from getting the care they need early on.
• Because a woman having a heart attack may have symptoms that doctors may not consider "typical," there may be a delay in diagnosis and treatment.
• Compared with men, women are referred less often for catheter procedures used for diagnosing and treating CHD.

For brief descriptions of the various treatments available for CHD, refer to the Treatments for Heart Disease section of this Web site.