Gender Differences in Patients Referred for Electrophysiology Procedures

Gender differences are prevalent in cardiology and particularly in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass surgery and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. The purpose of this study was to determine whether similar gender differences are present in electrophysiology. Eight-hundred seventy-three patients were identified from the ÒEP ManagerÓ database over approximately a two-year period at North Shore University Hospital. Overall, the majority of patients referred for invasiveive electrophysiology procedures were men (67 percent). A higher percentage of men had coronary disease despite the type of study/implant. There was a relatively equal distribution of men and women who underwent head-up tilt table testing (47 and 53 percent respectively). We conclude that gender differences are present in electrophysiology studies and that further studies are necessary to determine whether a bias exists in this field.