I'm afraid I'm a bit behind reading my magazine that I get on subscription. I've just got to My Weekly, October15th-22nd; Picture of Jennifer Saunders on the front.
It has an excellent 2 page spread entitled Six Things Women need to know about heart attacks. Much of the information comes from the Associate medical director of the BHF, Dr Babu Narayan and it stresses how women are dying needlessly because of misdiagnosis, are less likely to receive treatments like a bypass and stents and the fact that they tend to put off getting help because symptoms in women are not the standard things that are advertised- usually a man clutching his chest in agony.
I know from personal experience how misdiagnosis can happen. The paramedics diagnosed mine from an ECG but the nurse who triaged me in A&E ignored them because I wasn't in pain or clutching my chest. I just had severe indigestion. so I was left on a corridor for hours and hours.
I'm sure everyone on here, already knows this but if you have female friends who don't already have heart disease, do get them to read it. It's only last week's copy so it may still be available. It's really good.
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Qualipop
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I posted the British Cardiovascular Society's consensus document about women accessing cardiovascular care a few weeks ago which was published in September in BMJ Heart.
The lead author is Prof Vijay Kunadian the first woman Professor of Interventional Cardiology in the UK.
This illustration was created from the suggestions of the woman heart patient who was lead author of the patient's perspective section.
In response to the BCS consensus document the BHF announced a $10 research fund.
"The British Heart Foundation, alongside 11 leading research funders around the world, is inviting researchers to compete in a new research challenge that aims to transform the landscape of women’s cardiovascular health."
I saw and saved your original post. I just thought it was good to see this in a woman's magazine which will certainly reach thousands who may never have even thought about it.
Excellent that they are raising awareness. I was told twice by my GP Surgery that my heart was fine. They even did an ECG that showed nothing abnormal.I went to A&E several days later and an ECG there showed nothing. The only reason that they diagnosed me was from a blood test.
Thank you so much for sharing this information, Qualipop - My Weekly is also one of my favourite mags! I also read this article and found it very interesting. Carol
I live in Bulgaria and had not long moved there after retirement when I had my heart attack.I had no pain at all, I felt unwell and very clammy, particularly at the back of my neck.. I was alone at the time but fortunately a friend who had been a nurse-practioner in the UK phoned for a chat. She asked me how I was. Normally I would have said 'Fine' regardless but for some reason I told her exactly how I felt. She advised me to straight to A&E. Fortunately again,n both my daughter's arrived just then and took me immediately. Tests confirmed a heart attack and I had a stent inserted.
That was n17 years ago and I've been on preventative medication ever since but was slowly beginning to be able to do less and less and finally had 3 more stents inserted a year avo.
I was 79 last Sunday and now my arthritis causes me more problems than my heart does!
Thank you so much for bringing this up. I have been acutely aware of the ‘gender discrepancy’ in the treatment of heart disease in women. In the mid 1980s my mother died of a massive heart attack in front of her GP at the age of 48. She had been complaining of discomfort after exertion (she cycled 4 miles a day to work & back). An ECG was normal, but no doctor suggested an exercise stress test to check what was causing the discomfort. Instead, because she was a woman, they talked about the menopause; late onset asthma & breathing in & out of a brown paper bag! A man would have had the stress test. Her PM showed a massive blockage in her LAD artery. We now know there is FH in the family & I am getting regular checks at a Lipid clinic (I’m late 60s), my cholesterol has always been high, but is now reduced to nearly normal with treatment, luckily my LAD has only mild stenosis.
I battled to be listened to when I knew something was wrong with me. I wax getting occasional chest pain and pins dnd needles in my arms and legs on exertion. Constantly told it was indigestion, finally my new gp treated me for angina and referred me to cardiology. Had to burst into tears at appointment there as they were writing down stress/anxiety/depression! Had an ago and that was fine, so it was even worse!! Finally got an angiogram appointment “to reasssure me”
That showed ninety percent blockages in two major arteries! When they phoned to tell me they asked did I have someone with me ( no I live alone) so could I sit down)
Given the family history of heart disease and strokes I think it was awful that no one was listening to me. But they were fantastic once they discovered the problem and two stents fitted which undoubtedly saved me from heart attack and possibly death!!
Had a I been a man I think with my symptoms I would have been taken far more seriously. I do think things are improving, but there is plainly a way to to go yet.
Several years of complaining about shortness of breath ; always blamed on my spinal problems. Not one person ever asked about family history until 3 weeks before my HA when a very young doctor at Urgent care asked and immediately requested an urgent stress test. HA happened before that could be done. MY history- mother 3 heart attacks, grandfather he only one of 13 siblings to live past 50. The other 12 all died of heart failure. (Back then called dropsy).
that’s exactly what happened to me even I thought I had indigestion it was an ECG that diagnosed mine too, ended up with me blue lighted to hospital they tried to fit stent but I ended up with an emergency bypass
I had suffered for a few days on and off with what I thought was indigestion until I got up at 3am to take a couple of gaviscon and hubby put the bedroom light on he said my face was grey and that’s what made us phone 111
Goodness knows what would have happened had I been on my own because I really thought it was indigestion.
I agree raising awareness of heart attack in women is very important, from my personal experience I had a pain in my upper left back for a few days, didn't think anything of it,one morning I woke up the pain was so severe that my husband called an ambulance and they said my ecg didn't look right and took me to a n e. I never had any heart issues before, whilst there I got a few blood tests done,I was still on a trolley 8 hours after being admitted when a doctor told me I had muscle pain and was being sent home with a prescription for pregablin pain killers. Ju as I was about to leave another doctor came and said your going nowhere, your having a heart attack,I was taken straight to the cath lab where I had a stent,I was 59 years old, dealing with the shock was traumatic for a long time. So ladies be aware of your body if something doesn't feel right for you get it checked.Thank God I made it ❤️
My dad died of a heart attack when he was 62 and when I was mid 50's I started to get breathless and eventually got palpitations, did I go and see about it? Nope I ignored them all thinking that because I was female, thin and a non smoker it couldn't possibly be my heart it was probably because I was getting older. I was more worried about my brother taking after dad as he was an overweight smoker.How wrong was I by the time I did go to the doctor my heart was so bad, arythmogenic cardiomyopathy, severe heart failure, I was 58 and needed a transplant. I had inherited a faulty gene and thankfully my brother is fine although still an overweight smoker!.
If only I had known I was having symptoms of heart problems I would have done something about it earlier. I'm so glad more awareness of the difference in symptoms between male and female are appearing in articles like this and hopefully eventually doctors will act on them and save more lives. Char
Go Red for Women, and a go red for women day every February - there are departments for women's heart health in some hospitals (notably Cedars-Sinai in LA), Canada also has a network of women educators on heart health
in UK we have Womens Heartbeat womensheartbeat.com/, a recently formed charity which is trying to gain attention
yet heart conditions affect far more women than breast cancer, but I bet very few of the women in your lives know that!
I have mixed feelings about whether having a separate women's heart department would necessarily improve care.
I was originally referred to a women's heart clinic when I really needed to be cared for by an Interventional Cardiologist.
As the BCS consensus document stated, women's heart disease is everyone's responsibility.
All the relevant stakeholders need to work together in a coordinated way as outlined in the Patient's perspective section of the BCS consensus document.
Reading these histories I feel extremely lucky. I've known i had a heart condition for over 60 years and have been monitored annually by the cardiology consultants at guys and kings. I have known for most of this time that the ultimate would be a valve replacement in due course. Originally admitted to Lewisham hospital and transferred to guys with suspected with multiple sclerosis but a hospital doctor heard a heart murmur and so monitoring began. It turns out I was diagnosed with Mitral stenosis following reuhmatic fever as a child. MS was was also. confirmed .anyway at the age of 74 the time was considered optimum to carry out heart valve replacements and this was done in 2018. Operation was fine and 6 years on my heart is still OK and I'm still being monitored - even through covid.
My heart team and medical team are now all aware of everything that has happened to me, plus I always remind them!
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