Eight simple but effective ways to save your
own life
Each year, 435,000
American women have heart attacks. Nearly 20% of them are under age 65. In fact,
heart attacks kill six times as many women as breast cancer does.
Yet women aren’t
always evaluated and treated appropriately for their heart attacks, especially
compared to men, research shows.
One study found that women were less likely to receive beta
blockers and other common medications and therapies to manage their heart
attacks or to undergo certain standard procedures like angiography.
“Women are not
getting the same care as men,” says Suzanne Steinbaum, a cardiologist at The
Mount Sinai hospital in New York City and a volunteer medical expert for the
American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign.
“It might be because
heart disease is not thought of as a women’s disease, but that’s not true,” she
says. “Heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined.”
Women can take solid
steps to improve their odds of getting the right treatment for heart attack.
1. Advocate for yourself
A 2018 study published in Circulation, the
journal of the American Heart Association, found that with similar symptoms,
53% of women said their doctor did not think their symptoms were heart-related,
vs. 37% of men.
“The most powerful
thing a woman can say is, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack.’” Steinbaum says.
“When she says that, it sets off a train of activity and thought processes in
the team that is caring for her. That simple statement can be a lifesaving
measure.”
2. You might not be sure it’s a heart attack—seek help
anyway
Women wait 30% longer than men—about another half
hour—before seeking care.
Women wait 30% longer
than men—about another half hour—before seeking care, on average, according
to an August 2018 study published in Current Cardiology
Reports.
“One of the reasons
women delay getting treatment is that they’re concerned about appearing silly
if their symptoms aren’t due to heart attack,” says Nieca Goldberg, medical
director of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYU Langone Medical
Center.
These slowdowns can
snowball. Once they arrive at the hospital, women wait 20% longer than men to
receive care, according to the same study.
“When women do reach
out for help, they have delays in care, whether that’s the EMTs out in the
field or doctors seeing women in the emergency room,” Steinbaum says.
3. Get on the phone, not on the internet
Women who suspect
they might be having a heart attack often take an aspirin and go online to
check their symptoms, says Goldberg.
“If you’re thinking
about taking aspirin because you may be having a heart attack, call 911 at the
same time,” Goldberg says.
4. Describe—but don’t interpret—your symptoms
When did symptoms
start? How long did they last? Were you at rest or asleep when you experienced
them? What do they feel like?
Don’t discount
symptoms by assuming they stem from anxiety, stress, indigestion, or insomnia.
One study found that 21% of women attributed their symptoms
to stress or anxiety, compared to 12% of men.
5. Talk about your risk factors
Don’t assume your
health care team has reviewed your records. Let them know if you have high
blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, diabetes, or a family history of
heart disease, says Goldberg.
If you haven’t been
to the doctor in a while, she adds, say that you don’t know if you have risk
factors because you haven’t been evaluated recently.
6. Talk about gender bias
Women are more likely
to survive a heart attack if their doctor
is female.
Women are more likely to survive a heart attack if their
doctor is female.
Goldberg wouldn’t go
so far as to recommend requesting a female doctor, but you can draw attention
to the possibility of gender bias.
You can ask your
doctor what the recommended treatment plan would be if a man presented with
your symptoms.
And ask about
stenting and bypass. These lifesaving procedures are more often recommended for
men than for women.
“I tell all women
they need to have a relationship with a doctor,” Steinbaum says. “They need to
feel heard and understood. It doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman, but it
has to be somebody who really understands and gets them. If they don’t feel
heard or taken seriously, they should get another doctor.”
7. Watch for a range of symptoms
More than 85% of both women and men who are having a heart attack
notice chest pain, pressure, tightness, or discomfort. But women are more
likely to have three or more additional symptoms like shortness of breath,
nausea, or abdominal, shoulder, jaw, or neck pain.
“Women can be more
difficult to diagnose because their symptoms are so esoteric,” Steinbaum
says.
8. Don’t think you’re too young
Statistics show that
more than 80,000 women under the age of 65 experience cardiac arrest every
year. “Age is not something that rules in or out a heart attack,” Goldberg
says.
Assuming you’re too
young to have one could keep you from the care you need to survive.
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