Pharmacogenomics Can Help Buffer Female Cardiac Patients From Impacts Of Funding Cuts

Coronary disease is one of the most significant causes of death among women in the United States; it is responsible for one in every three deaths. Advancing age, along with other contributing factors, significantly increases the risk of heart disease, and nearly seven in ten women carry at least one such risk factor. 

Unlike cardiac disease in men, heart disease in women often impacts the smaller arteries of the heart, making it harder to detect. Such delays in identification have life-threatening implications for treatment outcomes once the disease is discovered. In addition, women experience chest pain from mental stress more often than men. Further, men more frequently have chest pain from exercise, whereas women experience it from daily activities. 

To address the impact on female cardiac patients, physicians can recommend virtual and preventive care platforms as well as AI tools. However, despite efforts to reduce disparities in diagnosis for women compared to men – including a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association – many women do not receive treatment until it is too late. 

Funding Cuts Impact Patients, Pharmacogenomics Can Help

With federal funding cuts well underway to research areas ranging from cancer to cardiology, patients will feel the impact, especially women who remain underrepresented in clinical trials and as the focus of pharmaceutical research. In particular, less funding means fewer clinical trials women can participate in, as well as fewer potential treatment options down the line. As such, being able to better leverage existing approved offerings, including AI options and pharmacogenomic tools, can potentially protect female cardiac patients against some of the negative impacts of decreased funding.

Pharmacogenomic tools analyze a patient’s unique genomic profile to see what medications could work best for that individual by understanding each individual’s ability to metabolize drugs. Rather than relying on trial-and-error for treatments, pharmacogenomics offers a tailored approach where physicians can leverage genomics data to develop a personalized treatment plan with the highest likelihood of success for each patient. In this regard, pharmacogenomic analysis offers the potential to help patients find successful treatments faster by matching them with drugs based on their genetics, rather than relying on general statistics about a drug category, which might not apply to a given patient based on their genomic profile. 

Thus, amidst federal research cuts to women’s cardiology research, pharmacogenomics offers an opportunity to help shield female cardiology patients from some of the negative impacts by helping to streamline the process from diagnosis to finding a successful treatment for that patient. 

Choosing pharmacogenomic tools for female cardiology patients

With several pharmacogenomic tools on the market, physicians should evaluate each to see which features can best support their patients. Some pharmacogenomic tools offer a more comprehensive gene analysis than others. For example, select panels can analyze the 22 guideline genes from the FDA, DPWG, and CPIC, including levels (A, A/B, B, and B/C), while other panels do not cover as many genes. Certain pharmacogenomic tools can even explore an 86 gene panel. With panels tailored to cardiology, psychiatry, pain management, rare disease, and primary care, doctors can consider which tool has the appropriate offerings for each patient. 

Additionally, some tools run faster than others, making a difference in treatment timelines. Of note, pharmacogenomic platforms can take hours, or sometimes even just 25 minutes, to run an analysis. Of course, cost also comes into play. Some offerings have a higher price point, making cost a key factor for selection.

Further, select pharmacogenomic tools provide higher accuracy when suggesting dosages and medications. For instance, certain platforms validate their results and recommendations against the 1000 Genomes Project, with some offering as high as 97% concordance. None have an error rate of zero, but physicians can select the tool with a margin they deem acceptable. 

By turning to validated, fast, comprehensive pharmacogenomic tools, physicians can continue to support their female cardiology patients even amidst federal funding cuts to women’s cardiology research. Having tools to match patients to targeted treatment options can both shorten timelines and improve health outcomes. 

Photo: Kiwis, Getty Images

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