Influence of assessment methods on reports of gender differences in AMI symptoms.

The purpose of this secondary analysis was to compare gender differences in retrospective reports of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms resulting from two different assessment methods: the open-ended inquiry and the combined assessment approach. Women reported more atypical symptoms in their responses to the open-ended inquiry and a greater number of typical, atypical, and total symptoms in the combined assessment approach in which the open-ended inquiry was followed by a series of closed-ended questions. Women reported more jaw/neck pain, dyspnea, and palpitations in response to the open-ended inquiry. In the combined assessment, men reported more chest pain/discomfort than women, whereas women were more likely to report jaw/neck pain, dyspnea, back pain, fatigue, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, and palpitations. The data suggest that careful attention to the type of questions used to assess AMI symptoms could lead to more definitive conclusions regarding gender differences in AMI symptoms.