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(CNN) - Two women a day die unnecessarily from heart attacks in England and Wales due to a gender gap in knowledge, diagnosis and treatment, says a major health charity.
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) published an investigation on Monday that estimates that more than 8,200 women died between 2003 and 2013 as a result of receiving worse treatment than men received.
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The charity wants to put an end to the misconception that heart attacks are a male disease and encourage women to know the risks and symptoms: twice as many women in the UK die of coronary heart disease than breast cancer.
In addition to being more likely to receive poor treatment, women suffer 50% higher misdiagnosis rates and receive worse subsequent care, BHF said, which greatly increases the risk of death.
In addition, certain risk factors may be more dangerous for women. One of the studies suggests that smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes increase the likelihood of heart attacks more in women than in men.
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A global review has also shown that women are, in general, slower to seek medical help than men. The time between the first symptoms that appear and the arrival at the hospital varies from 1 hour 24 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes for men. For women, it was between 1 hour 48 minutes and 7 hours 12 minutes.
Myths about "female" heart attack symptoms persist, although, as for men, the most common symptom is chest pain.
Other symptoms include feeling sick, sweaty, short of breath or lightheadedness. Less common symptoms are excessive coughing or wheezing, or a sudden feeling of anxiety.
Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, Associate Medical Director of BHF, said: “Heart attacks have never been more treatable. However, women die unnecessarily because heart attacks are often seen as a male illness, and women do not receive the same standard of treatment as men. The studies detailed in this briefing have revealed inequalities at each stage of a woman's medical trip. The reasons for this are complex. ”
Chris Gale, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Leeds and lead author of some of the studies, said: “This problem is not unique to the United Kingdom; Studies worldwide have also revealed gender gaps in treatment, suggesting that this is a deeply rooted and complex issue.
“By themselves, the differences in attention are very small, but when we look at this in the population of the United Kingdom, it adds to a significant loss of life. We can do better. ”
The BHF says that about 35,000 women a year are admitted to a hospital in the United Kingdom after a heart attack, which is equivalent to an average of 98 women per day.
Heart attack
