Misdiagnosis of Heart Attack in Women
11June2016
11June2016
Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women in the United States; heart attack in women kills more women than all cancers combined. Contributing to this epidemic is the fact that thousands of American women with heart disease are misdiagnosed every year. According to the American Heart Association, while men are more likely to be diagnosed with heart disease, women accounted for just over half of all heart attack fatalities in 2011. One in every 50 heart attacks is misdiagnosed but women are seven times more likely to have a heart attack misdiagnosed than men, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
The question is why are women’s heart attack symptoms so often misdiagnosed when more than one in three female adults has some form of cardiovascular disease?
According to the American Heart Association heart attack signs in women include:
If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these signs, call 9-1-1 and get to a hospital right away.
While chest pain or discomfort is the most common heart attack symptom for both men and women, women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms; in particular shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
The best way to prevent heart disease is to live a healthy lifestyle and talk to your healthcare provider about your risk factors.
While the risk of acquiring heart disease rises for everyone as they age, a woman’s symptoms can become more evident after the onset of menopause. There is also a marked increase in heart attacks among women about 10 years after menopause. It is thought that the decline in estrogen that comes with menopause may play a role in the increase of heart disease seen among post-menopausal women.
If a doctor fails to properly assess the following factors then he or she might be responsible for a misdiagnosis:
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