Attitudes about treatment of coronary heart disease among women and men presenting for exercise testing

To assess attitudes that could contribute to gender differences in the use of coronary procedures, we surveyed 322 patients presenting for exercise testing at a major teaching hospital. Adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors, women and men did not differ significantly in their willingness to seek a second opinion, reduce physical activity, or take drugs to avoid major cardiac surgery, but men were more likely than women to describe themselves as risk takers on a three-item personality measure (adjusted odds ratio 2.5; 95% confidence interval 1.4-4.6). Patients' attitudes about risk should be explored further in studies of gender differences in the use of coronary procedures.