Women less likely than men to receive heart attack treatment - Susan Dalgety

Women are less likely than men to receive heart attack treatment while in hospital

I also have a genetic condition that means my blood clots eight times more than normal.

My son and niece, who also suffer from the disorder, both nearly died from a deep vein thrombosis in early adulthood.

Yet according to recent research, I will not receive the same care as a man if I do suffer a heart attack. Why? Because of my sex.

A study by Aberdeen University, which analysed the health records of tens of thousands of men and women who had suffered a cardio-vascular incident, shows that women are less likely than men to receive heart attack treatment while in hospital and less likely to receive preventative treatment after they are discharged.

This echoes similar studies in the past. Research last year suggested that women are more than twice as likely to die after a heart attack than men, and that women aged 55 and below also had to wait 15 minutes longer than men for treatment after arriving at hospital. This despite the fact that speed is of the essence when a heart attack is suspected.

Dr Tiberiu Pana, who led the Aberdeen study, says the results confirm that there are “important sex differences among Scottish heart attacks patients.”

And he says that the current system is failing women. “We know that this is happening and we know the consequences are stark – we now need to focus on why and what we can do about it.”

Indeed, but the Scottish Government’s response to Dr Pana’s findings does not inspire confidence, particularly in this high-risk woman.

“We are taking action to ensure everyone with heart disease has timely access to equitable diagnosis, treatment and care,” said public health minister Jenny Minto.

But are they? A report published earlier this month, charting the progress of the government’s three-year women’s health plan which ended this year, admits that there is a need for a change in attitudes towards women’s health.

“This does not happen overnight, nor can it if we are to see lasting change,” says the report.

And improving how the medical profession deals with heart disease in women has been categorised as a “long term” action. Meanwhile, women are at risk of dying because of their sex.

Scotland has a Women’s Health Champion. Professor Anna Glasier OBE was appointed to the role last year, and according to the government she is “leading ground-breaking work”, including chairing an Abortion Law Review working group.

Abortion law is an important issue, but so is the revelation that women do not receive the same care as men following a heart attack.

Women do not need special treatment. All we want is the same treatment as our husbands, brothers and sons.

Yet, as Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, the British Heart Foundation's clinical director, said last week, the odds of receiving the medicines that can prevent a heart attack or stroke are “stacked against you if you are a woman.”

Surely this requires urgent action – now, not in the “long term”.