Disparities Found in Heart Treatment Between Men and Women, Delayed Diagnosis of Surgery Complications in Women May Explain Higher Death Rate
A 2024 study reviewed by Live Science and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association sheds light on disparities found in the treatment of women versus men when it comes to heart surgery complications. According to Julie Goldenburg, of Live Science, the JAMA study analyzed medical records from over 860,000 patients, who had undergone heart-related procedures (such as heart bypass surgeries and heart-valve replacements) during the period October 2015 to February 2020. The results were astounding: while the study found that 15% of the patients in total experienced some form of complication following heart surgery, close to 11% of women died as a result of these complications, while 8.6% of male patients died as a result of these types of complications. As a result, researchers concluded that “that this difference was likely caused by delays in doctors recognizing and treating women’s complications, which included heart attacks, blood clots in the lungs, kidney failure, lung failure, pneumonia, hemorrhage and surgical-site infections.” Researchers also noted that “women in the study were also more likely to receive care at teaching hospitals and larger, high-volume hospitals, compared with men. These types of facilities are associated with better-quality care than other medical centers, such as low-volume hospitals — however, women’s higher death rate was consistent across all the different facilities.” Dr. Catherine Wagner, a cardiac surgery resident, said of the study’s findings, “If anything, these results show how pervasive the problem is…this suggests there is a systemic problem contributing to the under-recognition and under-treatment of women’s postoperative complications.”
Medical Malpractice in New York City – What You Can Do About It Under New York Medical Malpractice Laws
The JAMA study raises an important issue that New York City residents should be aware of. Delayed diagnosis and “failure to rescue” may be medical malpractice under New York state medical malpractice laws. As such, victims of delayed diagnosis and failure to rescue by their doctors and medical teams may be entitled to money compensation for their injuries and losses. Victims of medical malpractice may be entitled to compensation for things like their lost wages from being out of work due to their medical malpractice injury, compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, and more. In order to determine whether you may be entitled to money compensation for your medical malpractice injury in New York City, it is best to speak with an experienced New York City medical malpractice lawyer about your case.
The experienced New York City medical malpractice lawyers at the law firm of Michael Gunzburg, P.C. are here to help victims of medical malpractice in New York City. They help New York City medical malpractice victims get justice against the doctors and hospitals that injured them. Do not hesitate to speak to an experienced New York City medical malpractice lawyer about your case today. Contact the law firm of Michael Gunzburg, P.C. and speak to a lawyer about your case now.
Source:
livescience.com/health/heart-circulation/wake-up-call-women-are-more-likely-than-men-to-die-of-complications-after-heart-surgery
