International
Stroke Conference 2012
NEW ORLEANS — Men call for emergency help more quickly than women
when the symptoms of acute stroke occur, researchers reported here.
The overall mean time from symptom awareness to 911 activation was 45
minutes, Joyce K. Lee-Iannotti, MD, of Mayo Clinic Arizona, told
Cardiology Today. On average, married men called
emergency medical services (EMS) earlier, within 28 minutes
of their first stroke symptoms, compared with 67 minutes for married women
(P=.04). Single men also called for help earlier than single women (5
minutes vs. 66 minutes), but this difference was not significant
(P=.60). When the researchers analyzed the group by marital status,
married men and women activated EMS earlier than single men and women (43
minutes vs. 60 minutes; P=.35).
The data are from a retrospective review that included 209 patients
(mean age, 76 years) with acute stroke symptoms who were brought by EMS to Mayo
Clinic Hospital in Phoenix during a 7-month period. Researchers
collected participants’ age, sex, marital status, time of symptom
awareness and time of EMS dispatch to investigate the effect of marital status
and differences between sexes on health-seeking behavior after stroke symptom
awareness. The study was modeled after a recent study that showed married men
presented earlier than married women for chest pain and possible MI.
Despite advances in therapeutic options for acute
stroke within a critical time window, usually 3 to 4.5 hours,
patient delay in seeking medical attention remains a significant barrier to
improving outcomes, said Lee-Iannotti, a vascular neurology fellow.
“Marriage has long been shown to offer health benefits in multiple
studies within the medical literature, possibly benefitting men more than
women. The reasons are unclear but postulated to be related to the societal
structure of gender differences, where
women take on the roles of caregivers and advise their
spouses to seek early medical care, often putting their own health second to
their husband’s and children’s health,” she said.
Lee-Iannotti said future research plans include a prospective study to
investigate reasons why marital status and sex affect health-seeking behavior
in stroke. – by Katie Kalvaitis
For more information:
Disclosure: Dr. Lee-Iannotti reports no relevant financial
disclosures.
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C. Noel Bairey
Merz
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There are MI 911 data from a recent US Department of Health and Human
Services-Office on Women’s Health survey that demonstrated less than half
of women will dial 911 for themselves if they think they are having a MI, but
87% will dial 911 for someone else. These data identify problems of both
recognition that women are at risk, but also that they still put the health of
others first. Sadly, like the airplane instructions, women and men should put
their own oxygen on first so they are able to help others. We have a lot of
work to do to improve women’s CV health, as the primary providers in
society.
– C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD, FACC,
FAHA
Cardiology Today Editorial Board member
Disclosure: Dr. Bairey Merz reports no relevant
financial disclosures.