Improving diagnosis of coronary artery disease in women—recommendations of a national expert panel

Obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) in women often presents with different types of symptoms than in men and can be challenging to diagnose due to a variety of factors. A national panel of experts convened to review the latest evidence regarding CAD in women, diagnostic approaches, and new types of tests and technologies. Their findings and policy recommendations are published in an article in Population Health Management. The article is available Open Access on the Population Health Management website.

Led by David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Editor-in-Chief of Population Health Management and Dean and Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor, Jefferson School of Population Health (Philadelphia, PA), a team of authors also from NYU School of Medicine (New York City), CardioDx, Inc. (Redwood City, CA), and Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, CT) summarizes the information and recommendations presented by the expert panelists, and emphasizes areas of general agreement.

The article "The Diagnosis of CAD in Women: Addressing the Unmet Need - Report from the National Expert Roundtable Meeting" highlights several areas of consensus including key diagnostic challenges in women, such as their greater likelihood to have atypical symptoms of obstructive cardiac disease. Other points include the need to understand sex-specific differences underlying CAD, and to be aware of new genomic approaches to diagnosis.

"This report provides important information regarding new advances that may improve the accuracy of diagnosis and help to avoid unnecessary invasive procedures," says Editor-in-Chief David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Dean and Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor, Jefferson School of Population Health, Philadelphia, PA.