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Men experiencing a stroke call for emergency help more quickly than women
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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:
- Lee-Iannotti JK. Abstract #3196. Presented at: the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2012; Feb. 1-3, 2012, New Orleans.
Disclosure: Dr. Lee-Iannotti reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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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.
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