According to the British Heart Foundation women suffering from heart attacks are dying unnecessarily just because they are unable to recognize their symptoms.
The common misperception that heart disease is more common in men than in women makes women unaware of their risk and make them relent to seek medical help.
Contrary to popular belief that men and women experience different heart attack symptoms, studies show that although symptoms can vary from individual to individual, chest pain is the most common symptom in both men and women.
Researches carried out by the British Heart Foundation showed that over 8,000 women died between 2002 and 2013 in England and Wales due to the reason that they did not receive the same standard of treatment as men.
Each year, about 35,000 women suffering from heart attacks are admitted to hospitals in the UK each year, an average of 98 women daily. They are also more likely to die from coronary heart disease as from breast cancer, says the BHF report.
The highest rate of heart disease
is reported in Scotland with 2,600 women die from heart attacks.
Chris Gale, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Leeds expressed that “This problem is not unique to the UK — studies across the globe have also revealed gender-gaps in treatment, suggesting this is a deeply entrenched and complex issue.”
“On their own, the differences in care are very small, but when we look at this across the population of the UK, it adds up to a significant loss of life. We can do better.”
As a reminder, heart attack symptoms can vary from individual to individual. Some symptoms include, central chest pain or pressure, tightness, pain in arms, neck, jaw, back or stomach, sickness, sweating, light-headed or short of breath. The most common causes comprise weight gain, diabetes, and high blood pressure.