The women dying from heart attacks because tests to spot them work best on men.
How can this happen?
Men and women are obviously physically different, but until recently no one realised this difference affects cardiac tests.
As Dr Nicholas Mills, a cardiologist at the University of Edinburgh, who led the research, explained: 'While men and women are just as likely to go to the emergency department with some form of chest pain, currently men are twice as likely to be diagnosed with a heart attack.'
Its very frightening. A week ago, whilst on holiday in France, I was woken up at 4 am with a severe crushing feeling in my mid chest, pain down my right arm and up into my right jaw. My husband got me to take 75 mg of aspirin, the crushing feeling subsided but I I'm left feeling exhausted, having palpitations, dizzy spells, upper back ache and shortness of breath.
As soon as I returned to the UK I made an appointment to see my GP. He listened to my heart and said, 'Mrs Banelli, I'm pleased to tell you, your heart is fine and don't worry, pain in your right arm isn't a sign of a heart attack'. I explained to my GP that I have heart disease in the family. My grand died of a heart attack at 71 and my dad (her son) at 52. I also explained that my cholesterol levels are high and have remained high even though Im a vegetarian who weighs in at 119lbs, don't smoke, rarely drink and I'm an Alpinist and TT cyclist. The GP reassured me that at my age 49 and because I'm a woman, its highly unlikely to be my heart.
I insisted he refer me to a cardiologist and he's done this reluctantly. What frightens me more than anything else is, my gran had 3 misdiagnosed heart attacks before she was hit with the big one. By the time her heart stopped she had so little heart muscle left, she could hardly stand up and they were treating her as an asthmatic. On her post mortem results it translates to heart failure due to loss of heart muscle from previous silent heart attacks. They were not silent, she always suspected those crushing pains were heart attacks but they were not picked up or diagnosed on the heart monitor in casualty. Each time she was sent home with a clean bill of health.
I feel like a hypochondriac. I feel like I'm wasting peoples time.
Thank you for your response. Have you seen your cardiologist for more checks? You can have 12-lead electrocardiogram and also echocardiogram to check your heart activities.
It is imperative that you make sure your cardiologist and your GP take care of your medical needs.
Please do not feel like this! "I feel like a hypochondriac. I feel like I'm wasting peoples time."
There are special blood tests for ladies, please ask for it.
My GP, and practice numse first gave me funny looks but now it is different!, I do make sure I have my facts with me for questions and answers.
Thanks for the reply Bala. I have just got my appointment through for a week tomorrow. Its something called the 'Rapid Chest Pain Clinic'. Apparently they are going to do a stress test and an Echocardiogram-ultrasound. I think 2 weeks from first visiting my doctor is a little too long, especially as my symptoms are not letting up.
If I have to go to casualty I will but I hope it doesn't come to that.
Please write down all your questions to ask at your appointment.
Stress test can be 12-lead electrocardiogram, you will be asked to go on a treadmill starting slowly and speed increasing and the technician will measure a number of things.
Please ask the question on special blood test for ladies to look for heart problems.
Ultrasound is echocardiogram, if they can do this this can give a lot of information.
Let us hope you do not have to go to A&E. If this happens if you are able to ask the question on the special blood test for ladies. I am afraid I am unable to remember the name, please look for it in the mail article.
I am a woman and I was 49 when I had a heart attack. I complained for a few years to my GP about tiredness and breathlessness and kept getting my thyroid checked as that was, to them, the obvious cause. I was treated as a hypochondriac too. Meanwhile they were treating my raised cholesterol and continually rising blood pressure with more and more medication, extra medications and so on. They had the gall to act surprised when I went in with my discharge letter from hospital detailing the emergency angioplasty and stent. The cardiologist told me this had been building for a long time and that I must have had symptoms before and he was very unhappy when I said yes to tiredness and breathlessness for a few years prior. He was adamant I should have been referred earlier not when the blockage that had been building was 98%. You were right to insist on a referral, far better to test negative than not test at all. Change your GP.
Hi Aliwally. Yes, my cholesterol levels have been checked 3 times now and each time its the same reading. My LDL is 6.2. Sorry but I don't have the paper to hand so can't tell you what my overall or good cholesterol reading is. I just memorize the bad one but I guess I should learn more about what the entire test means.
My GP says that even with heart disease in the family, he doesn't consider this high enough to put me on Statins. He always gives me a print out about how to make changes in my lifestyle. Last time I was sarcastic and told him, the only changes I could possibly make are in the unhealthy direction. I suggested my high cholesterol is hereditary but he told me that's unlikely.
"no one realised"? I'm pretty sure that it's been discussed on this site in the past, so that seems like the usual Daily Fail superlatives. I doubt that all of the incidence of FH seeming more common men is explained by doctors diagnosing heart problems with a male bias, but it could be.
My strong belief is that when I see an article it can help others, I like to post or ask a question, even if it a repeat! Cholesterol, blood sugar blood pressure, NHS health check and many more not many people are aware of checking. On the other side some people's belief is we must not waste doctor's time!!!
We all pay NI and we are entitled to medical checks and referral. According to today's paper NHS spent 500 million on overseas visitors health problems.
Bala, you were absolutely correct in posting this report and I hope it gets posted again and again. New people are joining this site every day and they join because they are ill and quite often feel alone in that illness.
Reading that report made me go away and do some more research and yes, its horrifying that so many women are dying of heart related issues because the wrong tests are being done or their doctor hasn't kept up with the latest breaking through info.
Well done, you helped me and I thank you for that.
I am so happy that at least I have helped one person.
I believe in Divine guidance. I was in singapore looking after my brother who was in hospital for four weeks after three major procedures!. My shift was day shift from 0700 to 1700 hours as the family put it.
I was there during doctors rounds morning, midday and afternoon. Learned a lot on blood tests, CT scan and medication and also the results on three hourly checks by nurses.
My brother is recovering and doing fine. Using my experience to help others.
Hi Maria. Don't let the medics intimidate you. It is your body and your life and you have a right to know what is happening to it. Please let the forum know how you get on with the the cardiologist. I hope you are treated well and they appreciate your anxiety over your family history. Has anyone suggested you might have FH (Familial Hypercholesterolaemia)? If you wasn't to know more you could contact HEART UK who are the "cholesterol charity". If you have it, you will be in good company for it is estimated that at least one family in five hundred carries this particular gene. If your symptoms were not a heart attack - how does the doctor explain them I wonder?
If it's your LDL which is 6.2 that is pretty high (like mine). Most GP's would be prescribing statins or referring you on.
I would definitely mention this when you get your referral to the cardiologist, along with your family history. You could have an inherited form which puts you at higher risk than the average person.
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