Two Duke University studies just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveal that men are three times more likely to obtain an implantable cardioverter defribrillator than women, though heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. Black men fare poorly in this regard as well, receiving the device 25 percent less often than white men. The device can be implanted with minor surgery and is considered one of the most effective treatments available for those at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. “[Physicians] have stereotypes about minorities and about women. . .We all do. It doesn’t mean that physician are bad people. But physicians are the ones who have to write it down and have their judgments studied[,]” said Jay Kaufman about the studies, as quoted in the Raleigh News & Observer. Kaufman is an UNC-Chapel Hill epidemiologist unaffiliated with the studies. In one Duke study, researchers studied the records of 236,000 Medicare patients who appeared eligible for the defibrillator. The second study looked at 13,000 patients in 217 hospitals across the country. Both studies found significant underuse of the device overall.