Women with heart attack symptoms wait longer than men to go to the hospital.
And once they're there, they often don't get the same level of care as men.
That's what a recent study showed in Michigan. The research found that men and women respond to and are treated for heart problems differently, despite the awareness efforts in the past decade.
The study showed that far more work needs to be done to educate women about warning signs and to educate doctors to aggressively diagnose women when they go to hospitals with symptoms.
Too often, women don't act quickly enough to get to a hospital, and they downplay warning signs.
According to the American Heart Association, women should know that:
- Heart disease is the No. 1 killer among women, more than deaths from breast cancer and lung cancer combined.
- 38 percent of women compared with 25 percent of men will die within one year after a heart attack.
- A heart association study of more than 1,000 women showed the lack of understanding women have of the dangers of heart disease and stroke. In the study, only 13 percent of women believe heart disease and stroke are the greatest health threat to women.
