Presumption of better health

Statistically speaking, who has a greater chance of dying from heart disease - men or women? My guess would be men ... and I would be wrong. There's little harm in me not knowing that women are actually at greater risk than men for heart disease. However, it would do a great deal of harm if I were a doctor and I still didn't know the correct answer to this question.

An article in Men's Health suggests that this is alarmingly the case with many doctors. A study from Rush University found that fewer than one in five doctors knew that women are at a higher risk of heart disease than men, which may serve to explain why women are also six times less likely to be prescribed statins, aspirin, an beta-blockers.

It remains unknown why this presumption of better heart health in women persists, though its implications -- with respect to proper treatment and preventative care -- can be significant.