Female heart attack sufferers might find themselves experiencing roadblocks on the way to treatment, with new studies suggesting that the care afforded to young and middle aged women was delayed compared to that of their male counterparts.
The discrepancy seems to be attributed to the tendency to diagnose women with anxiety rather than cardiac distress, putting a serious dent in the early treatment necessary to prevent symptoms from intensifying. Researchers from Canada's McGill University surveyed 1,123 patients in total, with female respondents recording longer wait times once reaching the emergency room. Male patients received electrocardiograms (ECGs) within 15 minutes, on average, and fibrinolysis treatments - used to prevent and dissolve blood clots - within 28 minutes. Conversely, women of the same age (between 18 and 55) witnessed an average of 21 minutes before receiving ECGs and 36 for fibrinolysis.
"Patients with anxiety who present to the emergency department with non-cardiac chest pain tend to be women, and the prevalence of acute coronary syndrome is lower among young women than among young men," said study co-author Louise Pilote. "These findings suggest that triage personnel might initially dismiss a cardiac event among young women with anxiety, which would result in a longer door-to-ECG interval."
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, the director of women and heart disease at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital, expressed concern at the results. "It has been shown in multiple trials that there are gender differences in the treatment of heart disease between men and women entering a hospital," she said. "In younger adults, ages 18 to 55, this reality has also shown to be true. When women enter a hospital, it is critical that this bias is eradicated." Dr. Steinbaum was not associated with the study.
The study also noted that women appeared less assertive when describing chest pains and other symptoms, and emphasized the need to educate patients on how best to report their problems. As such, the questionnaire that respondents answered evaluated characteristics such as shyness, gullibility, and compassion. Interestingly, the study also found that gender aside, respondents with a higher incidence of 'feminine' traits, as defined by the survey, were more likely subject to longer wait times, while those with 'masculine' traits received more prompt treatment.
"Both men and women need to know that the way they present themselves and the way they report their symptoms may have an important influence on their access to care," said study author Roxanne Pelletier, a clinical psychologist and post-doctoral fellow at the McGill University Health Center. "And so they need to know that they should be assertive when expressing their needs and reporting their symptoms. And they need to be concise and precise when reporting their symptoms."
The study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
