Penque, Halm, Smith, Deutsch, Roekel, McLaughlin, Dzubay, Doll and Beahrs (1998) state, "Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States"(p175). Jensen and King (1997) state, Women in the 1990's are dying of heart disease more often than men. In the United States, 500,000 deaths per year are attributed to cardiovasculat disease in women, in contrast to 450,000 deaths per year in men."(p.45). Yet, heart disease has primarily been considered a male disease. The studies concerning acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) have been based on male subjects. The purpose of this study was to identify the gender differences in the presentation of symptoms prior to and during an acute myocardial infarction. A retrospective chart review (40 charts-20 male; 20 female) of symptoms experienced by men and women having an acute myocardial infarction was performed. The population studied met with pre-established criteria which were: elevation in cardiac enzymes; and/or serial EKGs displaying ST segment changes or Q waves consistent with AMI. The upper limit of normal was considered high when evaluating patient's cardiac enzymes Nausea and epigastric discomfort were experienced more often by women, supporting literature which suggest that women often atypically present with epigastric discomfort. The most common presenting symptom for men in this research study was diaphoreses(65%). There was a significant difference in the experience of left arm pain as a symptom, with 55% of men reporting this symptom; only 30% of women reporting this same symptom. A significant variable for both genders was shortness of breath, 55% of men and 50% of women reported shortness of breath prior to and during AMI. Given that cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death in women, this study demonstrates the need for further gender sensitive research regarding this significant health problem
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