The American journal of emergency medicine
-
Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Preferences for cardiac tests and procedures may partially explain sex but not race disparities.
There are known race and sex differences in emergent cardiac care. Many feel these differences reflect a bias from the physician. We hypothesized these differences may be the result of patient preferences. ⋯ Blacks were more likely to prefer the less invasive stress test and wanted PCIs more, but these racial differences disappeared when a physician-recommended test was offered. Women were more likely to refuse the most invasive cardiac procedure compared with men. The sex-related preferences might partially explain why women receive fewer invasive cardiac procedures than men. However, race-related cardiac preferences suggest that other factors beyond patient preference account for fewer PCIs in black patients.