Claudication symptom experience in men and women: Is there a difference?

Area of Science:

• Vascular Medicine
• Qualitative Research
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Existing research highlights gender disparities in clinician perception of cardiovascular symptoms like angina.
• A knowledge gap exists regarding gender-specific differences in the experience of claudication symptoms associated with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential gender differences in how men and women with PAD describe their claudication symptoms.
• To explore patterns in symptom description, pathophysiology understanding, response, and disease comprehension between genders.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative content analysis of interviews from a parent study involving 38 patients (24 men, 14 women) with PAD.
• Interviews were conducted between 1996-1997 in two US medical centers.

Main Results:

• Four major themes emerged: symptom descriptions, pathophysiology, response, and understanding of the disease process.
• Overall, no striking gender differences were evident in the claudication symptom experience.
• Subtle gender-specific variations in claudication descriptions were identified.

Conclusions:

• Clinicians should recognize the diversity of claudication symptom descriptions irrespective of gender.
• Further research with targeted interviews is recommended to explore subtle gender differences in claudication experience.
• Clinical assessment and care management for PAD should encompass a broader range of symptom experiences beyond classic claudication.