Women Heart Attack Survivors Face Early Death Threat

Heart Attack is Often Misdiagnosed as an Indigestion Problem

​Who would believe that men and women who were diagnosed with heart attack at the same time would have varying life spans only due to gender difference? This is the latest study by some researchers in Sweden who monitored (for 10 years) 180,368 Swedish patients who suffered a heart attack. The major finding of these researchers was that, women were twice at an increased risk of dying from a serious heart attack in the successive years after having one.

It All Boils Down to the Sexes
There were no differences in the number of deaths between men and women who suffered from a heart attack if one looks at data in your hand. But, with the fact that women outlive men in most parts of the world, one could notice the exceptionally increased death rates in female heart attack patients.

The researchers collected data about their patients from the Swedish dataset which contained 96% relevant records. Researchers basically looked for survival rates at 1 and 5 years after being treated for a heart attack. They found that:

1. Women treated for heart attack were older than men with other health conditions such as diabetes, BP and heart failure but were never heavy smokers.
2. Almost 46% of women died compared to men (35%) and their life span post-treatment was also shorter (1.7 vs 1.9 years).
3. Women who suffered from the dangerous fatal type of heart attack called a STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) had their chances of survival at 83% (1 year) and 75% (5 years) compared to 87% and 82% respectively in the case of men.
4. Women who were treated for non-STEMI had decreased survival rates compared to men at 5 years (73% vs 76%).
   
   

At the end of the study, researchers concluded that the above disparities were due to the differences in the care given. Women with STEMI were at a 34% reduced chance of being given the necessary treatment (by-pass surgery or stents) for clearing blocked arteries. They were also at a 24% decreased chance of given statin medications that help prevent a second heart attack and 16% less likely to be given aspirin that can help to prevent blood clots. The study also confirmed the fact that, when women received all the suggested treatments the difference in mortality rates was minimal in any circumstance.

Health professionals also do not always diagnose a woman with heart problem immediately. Almost 50% of them are initially misdiagnosed with digestive problems such as acid reflux and are less likely to be advised for an ECG. There is no data to reason out the difference behind the individual treatment decisions. GERD is an antagonizing problem which prevents a person from eating some kinds of foods. Such individuals can get in touch with a nutritionist/dietitian at www.firsteatright.com to fulfill their nutrient requirements anyhow.
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Also, we should remember the fact that in everyday life, a woman is expected to heal quickly and start performing her day-to-day activities faster when compared to a man. This puts the woman at a greater stress to fulfill these requirements. Psychosocial factors can also affect women in ways not yet revealed to us.