Women Less Likely To Survive A Heart Attack Than Men: Study

Women with heart disease wait longer in emergency rooms for treatment and many times, their atypical symptoms are ridden off as gastrointestinal problems.

While not many know but a heart attack is one of the leading causes of death among women and one of the most preventable. Surveys have suggested that women worry more about getting a breast cancer diagnosis. However, as per reports, heart disease kills 6 times as many women every year. Studies have found that women as compared to men are more likely to die following a heart attack.

As per reports, women are more likely to have an atypical presentation of symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea and fatigue. Many times, their symptoms might not fall within the bracket of conventional signs like chest pain and other times, they can be ridden off as gastrointestinal problems or anxiety.

Following heart attack

The study presented at a conference organized by the European Society of Cardiology drew a comparison between the health profile of both men and women just following a heart attack. They found that women are two to three times more likely to have negative health outcomes such as death, both in the short term and long term.

As per quoted experts, the general notion continues to persist that women are protected against cardiovascular risk because of the protective functions of oestrogen. However, with an epidemic of obesity and diabetes, this protection is no longer effective and pre-menopausal women are equally at risk of developing heart disease.

As per the study, women under 55 years of age tend to wait an average of 95 minutes in hospital for treatment whereas men of the same age wait up to 80 minutes.

While the researchers didn’t find any discrepancies in the medication prescribed to lower blood pressure and lipid levels among men and women, the atypical symptoms and genetic predisposition contribute to negative clinical outcomes among women.

What factors increase the risk?

As per studies, conditions like diabetes increase the risk of heart disease among women, more than it does for men. Very often women with diabetes have other additional conditions like hypertension, high cholesterol and obesity. Although women usually develop heart disease about 10 years later than men, diabetes erases that advantage. As per studies, for women, metabolic syndrome is the most important risk factor for having heart attacks at an unusually early age. As per the journal Harvard Health Publishing, women have smaller and lighter coronary arteries than men do. This makes angiography, angioplasty, and coronary bypass surgery more difficult to do, thereby reducing a woman’s chance of receiving a proper diagnosis and having a good outcome.