External links
- C. Noel Bairey Merz, MD
- Heart Attack Symptoms in Women, American Heart Association, retrieved 25 November 2014
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The Yentl syndrome refers to the underdiagnosis of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in women compared to men, as well the general gender disparity in cardiovascular health research. [1] [2] Cardiovascular disease in young women often presents atypical symptoms not present in men, such as abdominal discomfort, issues with sleep, anxiety, indigestion, and shortness of breath.
The name is taken from the 1983 film Yentl starring Barbara Streisand in which her character plays the role of a male in order to receive the education she desires. The phrase was coined in a 1991 academic paper by Dr. Bernadine Healy titled "The Yentl syndrome", [3] where she condemned the characterization of coronary heart disease as only prevalent in males and called for awareness of gender differences in health.
The publishing of "The Yentl Syndrome" was an open call to address the issue of gender disparities in heart health, but specifically focused on male-dominant research of coronary artery disease that did not take estrogen into consideration, which significantly affected women's health outcomes in the treatment and diagnosis of IHD [3] . However, Yentl Syndrome was expanded to describe the general gender disparity in cardiovascular health. Disparity in IHD and heart disease is not strictly constructed of biological differences; socieconomic differences, culture, and age exacerbate the disparity, especially given that 80% of IHD is preventable [4] .
Much of medical research has focused primarily on symptoms of male heart attacks, and many women have died due to misdiagnosis because their symptoms present differently; specifically in relation to underdiagnosis of angina in young female patients [5] . In addition to underdiagnosis, gender differences in the treatment of heart disease in women lead to worse health outcomes in comparison to men [6] . Women under the age of 50 are twice as likely to die from a heart attack caused by IHD than men of the same age [5] . Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, killing 299,578 women in 2017—or about 1 in every 5 female deaths. However, heart disease continues to be thought of as a "man's disease". [7]
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