Journal of Invasive Cardiology

Examination of gender-related disparities among cardiovascular patients is difficult as women continue to be underrepresented in clinical trials. The majority of these analyses have shown that women usually present at a more advanced age, with a greater prevalence of high-risk features such as diabetes and hypertension which are usually responsible for a worse outcome. However, after adjustment for these differences in baseline characteristics, outcomes for male and female patients have proven to be similar, albeit the limitations that these statistical analyses may have. While recent literature has suggested closure of the gender gap, high-risk female patients undergoing PCI still suffer worse outcomes than their male counterparts. Randomized cardiovascular trials designed to study sex-specific differences in outcomes are warranted.