Women Less Likely to Get Heart Defibrillators

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It's also possible that physicians are more comfortable prescribing the devices for men because clinical trials have been done mostly in men, or they see men who have other risk factors for sudden death more often than women. There could also be system-wide or hospital inequities with women having less than full insurance coverage for ICDs.

In any event, one solution seems clear.

"We need to promote awareness about the use of defibrillators, we need to figure out what are the barriers for use and, specifically, what are barriers for use in women and minorities and how to address these barriers," Hernandez said.

More information

The Heart Rhythm Society has more on ICDs.