One reason women are at greater risk of dying from a heart attack revealed
Health experts are calling for urgent action to "revive" heart care after women were found to be at bigger risk of dying from heart attacks due to sexism.
The study, by the University of Leeds and the British Heart Foundation (BHF), gathered NHS data from previous research which examined common heart conditions over the past 20 years. Researchers looked into how care differed based on age and sex. It comes as heart attack victims are often perceived to be overweight middle-aged men.
According to the findings, females are a third less likely to be given a vital procedure named coronary angiogram, which is used for the most serious type of heart attack, an ST-elevated myocardial infarction. The angiograms allow doctors to search for any narrowing or blockages in the coronary arteries through x-ray imaging which would detect whether patients need treatment.
The study, as seen in the journal The Lancet Regional Health, found that females were more inclined to die after being admitted to hospital with a severe heart attack. The findings revealed that women are less likely to be issued with preventative drugs such as beta blockers or statins.
Researchers also discovered that on average it takes a longer period of time for women to be diagnosed with heart failure, reports The Times. It follows previous studies which have highlighted that women experiencing heart attacks are 50 per cent more likely than men to be misdiagnosed. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, associate medical director at the BHF, said the research shows that the "odds are stacked against women" with cardiovascular care. She added: "Deep-rooted inequalities mean women are underdiagnosed, undertreated, and underserved by today’s healthcare system. Now it’s time for real action to make heart care more equitable."
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The consultant cardiologist further explained that medics need to tackle the "biases" that caused women to receive "worse care than men." According to the study, older people were also more likely to not receive key treatments for heart attacks. The research stressed that long NHS waiting lists are leading to heart condition deaths which could have been avoided. The review identified that there were 500 deaths in the UK among people who were waiting for treatment for aortic stenosis in 2019. The condition is a narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve which limits blood flow.
It has been reported that the latest NHS figures show that over 400,000 people are currently on waiting lists for heart care. The figure has increased by 73 per cent since before Covid-19. Professor Chris Gale, lead author of the study, stressed that cardiovascular care has noticeably taken a hit. He said: "The NHS is full of fantastic people who make monumental efforts every day to do the best for their patients. Despite this, the NHS is creaking at the seams, and we see this played out in cardiovascular care. Past efforts to transform heart care and drive down waiting lists were hugely successful, and we must build on the lessons from these to move forward.”
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