The researchers attempted to examine the thinking of 15 cardiologists who sent 280 men and 130 women to have exercise tests for suspected heart disease. All the doctors filled out questionnaires about how long they thought the patients would live and whether they thought angiograms would find blockages. Men were substantially more likely than women to receive angiograms. However, the doctors said differences in their conditions was the reason.

The new report, by Christopher T. Sempos and others from the National Center for Health Statistics, found no such link. They looked at 4,518 American men and women whose blood iron levels were tested in the early 1970s. By the late 1980s, those with high iron levels were no more likely than other people to suffer heart problems.