Women are Less Likely to Get Specialized Medical Evaluations After Stroke: Study

Hospitalized women with stroke were less likely than men to be evaluated by specialists and get specialized diagnostic tests, reports a new study. The findings of the study are presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2019. Previous studies found that there are gender differences in stroke risk factors, incidence, treatment and in how stroke survivors fare mentally and physically.

In this study of nearly 67,000 ischemic stroke survivors drawn from a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries, researchers examined whether there were gender differences in hospital evaluation after stroke.

They found small but notable differences, suggesting women hospitalized with stroke were less likely than men to see stroke specialists and receive imaging and other tests to diagnose stroke. Female stroke survivors had a:

• 6 percent less likelihood of having intracranial vessel imaging;
• 10 percent less likelihood of having cervical vessel imaging;
• 8 percent less likelihood of being monitored for heart-rhythm irregularities; and
• 8 percent less likelihood of having echocardiography.

Source-Eurekalert