Women are twice as likely to die from heart attacks, but they still think it’s a “man’s thing.”
The first cause of death in men is tumors, and in women – cardiovascular diseases, especially heart attacks, strokes and heart failure. However, as the latest NHS Cardiovascular Health Strategy highlights, these types of diseases in women are “little studied, little recognized, underdiagnosed and receive little treatment.”
There are a number of factors behind this deficit, including the fact that victims tend to think they are having heart attacks.”“They’re a man’s thing.”they minimize symptoms and delay consultations.
Women take 237 minutes to get to the emergency room after a heart attack, compared to 98 minutes for men.
According to various studies by the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC), risk from death heart attack is double in women than in men (18% compared to 9%), for a number of reasons, among which only 39% of patients correctly recognize symptoms – compared to 57% of men – so it takes them an average of 237 minutes to get to the emergency room from the time pain begins, while men take just 98 minutes.
Additionally, women suffer from cardiac arrest on average. 10 years later than men and therefore when they already have other medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, dementia or kidney failure that may complicate survival.
The culture has always believed that estrogen protects women, so when women have symptoms, it doesn’t occur to them that it might be a heart attack.
Estrogens
However, “culturally it has always been believed that estrogen They protect women from cardiovascular disease, so when any symptoms appear, it does not occur to them that it could be a heart attack or something cardiovascular and they don’t come quickly for consultation or emergency care,” explains Leticia Fernandez-Friera, member of the Scientific Committee of the Women and Heart Project of the Spanish Society of Cardiology.
In addition, it is traditionally believed that a heart attack causes pressing pain in the chest or heart, which may radiate to the left arm. But women may also have other symptoms, such as fatigue, vomiting, shortness of breath, cold sweat and “some atypical pains, such as back or jaw pain, which are difficult to identify and associate with a heart attack,” explains the director of the HM Hospitales Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center.
According to the Cardiovascular Health Strategy, the “caregiver role” that society assigns to women leads to a “refusal to take care of one’s own health.”
To all this, as stated in the Cardiovascular Health Strategy, it should be added that “the role of guardians”, which society provides to women, leads to “refusal to take care of one’s own health.” Also, this is the group with the worst working conditions and economic conditions, They also impact cardiovascular health as they tend to have the toughest jobs and worst habits leading to obesity, diabetes or a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors for all diseases associated with the cardiovascular system, as well as smoking and alcohol.
Actually, morbidity is on the rise, which is associated with an increasingly aging population and the growth of bad habits.
Waterfall
But the emphasis should not only be on women. Answer sanitary system It is not always at the required level, as is also evidenced by the Cardiovascular Health Strategy to improve the situation. When they come in for chest pain, sometimes the doctor makes a diagnosis anxiety or stress and does not link it to heart disease. Likewise, periodic screenings are not always recommended for women who have experienced hormonal changes during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes or preeclampsia, which are also risk factors.
Women receive less treatment and perform fewer interventional procedures.
In addition, they also receive fewer proceduresFewer interventional procedures are performed and fewer referrals to cardiac rehabilitation units are performed.
Faced with this, the SEC says it is acting in two areas: raise awareness about the need to lead a healthy lifestyle and disseminate among women the need for reviews in consultation with their doctor, especially if they have any risk factor for cardiovascular disease after age 50, when the likelihood of this type of disease increases.