Women are dying of heart attacks in greater percentages than men. Why? Because they aren’t being taken seriously and getting the same medical care. Sad but true.
As Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said in an interview with BBC.com,
“Heart attacks have never been more treatable. Yet women (in the UK) are dying needlessly because heart attacks are often seen as a man’s disease, and women don’t receive the same standard of treatment as men.”
She went on to say that studies have “revealed inequalities at every stage of a woman’s medical journey, and although complex to dissect, they suggest unconscious biases are limiting the survival chances of women”.
It’s hard to change “the system” from the ground up. You can easily, however, have an increased awareness of of the pitfalls women face, and what symptoms to look for, in order to improve female survival rates, in general.
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What should you look for?
According to the BBC, women often delay seeking help when they may suspect they are having a heart attack. They are also more likely to receive an incorrect diagnosis compared with men, they are more likely to receive substandard treatment, and the quality of their aftercare is substandard. So, be wary.
Heart attack risk factors like having high blood pressure and smoking are said to increase a woman’s chances of suffering from a heart attack more than they do for men.
The Mayo Clinic states on its website that when experiencing a heart attack, women are more likely to have symptoms that don’t relate to chest pain, although they do also experience chest discomfort.
The site lists other symptoms as:
- Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in one or both arms
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sweating
- Lightheadedness or dizziness
- Unusual fatigue
- Indigestion
Seek immediate medical attention if you or someone you know is having a heart attack.
