IGH Summer Institute Alumnus and Travel Award Recipient Publishes Sex Differences Paper in JAMA

Dr. Meytal Avgil Tsadok, IGH Summer Institute alumnus and postdoctoral fellow, was the lead author on a study investigating stroke patterns in men and women published in the May 9, 2012 issue of the top-ranked Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Avgil Tsadok first presented this paper at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2011—one of the most important meetings for cardiovascular clinicians and researchers—with the support of a travel award through IGH's Institute Community Support Program in Orlando, Florida (November 2011). The paper, "Sex Differences in Stroke Risk Among Older Patients With Recently Diagnosed Atrial Fibrillation," investigated whether under-treatment of women with atrial fibrillation (a common form of irregular heartbeat) with the drug warfarin could account for why women with this condition are at greater risk of stroke than men. The study concluded that use of warfarin did not explain this difference; sex differences persisted regardless of warfarin use.