Why heart disease in women is so often missed or dismissed

[londa lee]

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States, killing nearly 700,000 people a year.

But studies have long shown that women are more likely than men to dismiss the warning signs of a heart attack, sometimes waiting hours or longer to call 911 or go to a hospital.

Now, researchers are trying to figure out why. They have found that women often hesitate to get help because they tend to have more subtle symptoms than men - but even when they do go to the hospital, healthcare providers are more likely to downplay their symptoms or delay treating them.

The US health authorities say that heart disease in women remains widely under-diagnosed and under-treated, and that these factors contribute to worse outcomes among women and heightened rates of death from the disease.

Most studies suggest that a major reason women delay seeking care - and are often misdiagnosed - is because of the symptoms they develop.

While chest pain or discomfort is the most common sign of a heart attack in both sexes, women who have heart attacks are far less likely than men to have any chest pain at all. Instead, they often have symptoms that can be harder to associate with cardiac trouble, like shortness of breath, cold sweats, malaise, fatigue, and jaw and back pain.

A report by the American Heart Association found that heart attacks are deadlier in women who do not exhibit chest pain, in part because it means both patients and doctors take longer to identify the problem.

But, when women suspect they are having a heart attack, they still have a harder time getting treated than men do. Studies show they are more likely to be told that their symptoms are not cardiovascular-related. Many women are told by doctors that their symptoms are all in their head.

One study found that women complaining of symptoms consistent with heart disease - including chest pain - were twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness compared with men who complained of identical symptoms.

Women face longer waits, slower diagnoses
In a study published in May2022 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers analysed data on millions of emergency room visits before the pandemic.

They found that women - and especially women of colour - who complained of chest pain had to wait an average of 11 minutes longer to see a doctor or nurse than men who complained of similar symptoms. 바카라사이트