Gender gap remains for heart attack care

"It's very important for the public — women and the people who love them — to get over the idea that it's not a disease of women," she said.

But it's not about the public, is it?  It's about the doctors, who never take any woman's illness or treatment as seriously as they do for men.

The women and their loved ones can't treat them for massive heart attack, so I don't see how the remark is appropriate.  However, it *is* typical in that it blames the woman instead of the medical profession.

Maybe we should just be grateful that aspirin therapy is deemed appropriate for female heart attack victims rather than antidepressants.

The problem is that some women don't have the same symptoms of a heart attack as a man, and doctors are quick to diagnose as something else. But, I am lucky to be one of those women who survived a major attack. I went to the hospital because I thought Iwas getting a cold and sore throat. There was no tightening of the chest, no arm pain, and I was breathing well. The symptoms for women could be a pain above the back, a jaw ache, pain above the waist. The doctors should have more knowledge of these things or more women will die.

For some reasons, breast cancer gets avid attention, when it's heart disease that's the greater threat.

They need to give a lot more attention to women and heart attacks... I was 36 when I had mine and I had gone to ER in my small town.. and got sent home saying I was having a panic attack... I had never had one before.. I was have the usual male.. symptoms.. more than the female  symptoms!  They gave me some panic meds and off I went... thinking that the Doctor had diagnosed me properly.  When about 4 hours later I was not feeling any better I called back to the ER and they asked it I had any pain killers at home...  I did.. so I took them as the Doctor had told me too.... Well... about 4 more hours past and I could not stand the pain anymore.. I called again...... they told me well you can come back out and we can check you again.   I went.. my best friend took me.. I couldn't even stand anymore from the pain.. I laid in the back seat... my friend was scared!  When I got there they still said I was having a panic attack but were going to send me to a bigger hospital..  After giving me tons of morphin... and an ambulance ride 30 miles away... I found out that I had a heart attack and had to be taking into surgery immediately!  

My point is small towns Doctors need more training as much as big town Doctors!!!!  They need to think outside the box when it comes to women and heart disease!!!  I have seen many doctors since and I still don't believe I get the treatment that I need!!! I still have horrible shortness of breathe and have had to have an ablasion to my heart since also!!!

I have 3 young wonderful kids... and I will fight with any doctor to get the treatment I need to stay here with my wonderful young kids!!!  and to see them grow to be wonderful adults that know they need to keep a check on there hearts always!!!!

If any doctor reads this I hope they realize that women need  just as much attention as the men do when it comes to their hearts... kids need both parents ... not just one from there lack of attention to a woman patient!!!!!

This is so true. When I went in the E.R. with a 99% blockage, I told them I was having a heart attack as I had never felt anything like it before. I was very short of breath and could not walk even through my house (for the second day in a row.) The E.R physicians were getting ready to release me as my "blood pressure was normal." They told me it was an esophical problem. Thank God there was a female heart specialist who happened by and said "this is the real deal, she's having a heart attack." And then she admonished the male doctors there by telling them "when will you realize that womens symptoms are NOT always the same as males." I thank God for this woman whom I had never seen before or since that night. I believe she saved my life. Womens health issues are not taken as seriously. Since that night, I have often wondered how many have been sent home with "esophical problems."  

I have been a nurse for 30 years and have seen a lot of heart attacks.  This last October I was at work, very non stressful day and had a sudden onset of sharp stabbing chest pain radiating to my back and down my right arm and up to my right jaw.  I took several doses of Maalox (i have gastritis) without success. One of the other nurses took me to the ED.  I had three doses of Nitro with no relief and finally 4 mg of Morphine made the pain go away.  I had non-specific ST segment changes on my EKG so they put me in the hospital overnight.  The cardiologist (who never touched me by the way) did a stress echo which showed mitral valve regurg and a left bundle branch block during activity.  These were new findings as I had a cath 10 years ago that was clean.  I was worried that I had a problem with my aorta so they did a CT of the chest which was normal.  but now I feel that I should have another cath to make sure my arteries are open.  I have had three episodes of pain since that time and they resolved on their own.  My dad died at age 41 of his third heart attack.  My mother had three vessel disease.  I am overweight and have a high cholesterol level.  I just can't get in to see another cardiologist for 6 MONTHS!!( I live in Seattle now).  I am tempted to go back to Houston to my former Cardiologist at Methodist Hospital/ Baylor College of Medicine to get an eval.  I just don't seem to be getting the attention of the cardiologist here.

this explains why women have a longer life expectancy than men. There is 100 times more dollars spent on breast cancer than prostate cancer yet the number of men dying from prostate cancer is roughly equal to the number of women dying of breat cancer...go figure

It's Bush's fault.

I have a pacemaker implant, Atrial Fibrillation, Sick Sinus Syndrome and Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, all serious heart problems.  Saturday night I went into serious AFib, was sweating, clammy and generally felt like crap and had a hard time breathing.  When the EMTs got to my house, the first question was "are you having chest pains" which I was not.  Although they took me to the ER, I laid there from 8PM until 3:30 AM without seeing one doctor.  They never called my primary care physician and would not call my cardiologist because he was not on staff at that hospital.  I finally checked myself out at 3:30 AM.  I noticed that every man who came into the ER was admitted into the hospital within a few hours.  Maybe I did not have a heart attack, but they never checked because "my numbers looked good."  I called my primary on Monday and told them what happened.  They are beyond livid and said that they were going to investigate the matter since they know I have these serious heart problems and was basically ignored.  The hospital lied and said they called my primary but he never called back.  They said they called the on-call doctor, but he never called back.  They said I would see a cardiologist, but never did.  Unbelievable.  Women are still considered second class citizens.

Even women drs brush off other women!  Why would I send my honor roll kids to med school in this country?  It's harder to get into veterinary medicine than into human medicine--think about that!

I also went to the ER with terrible pain across my chest, going up the back of my neck and numbing my jaw.  EKG fine, I mentioned the fact that I had high blood pressure, diabetes and a family history of blocked arteries (Dad and male cousins) I was told I was to young to have a heart attack given pain meds for muscle pain and sent home, next night another painful episode.  Didn't go back, took pain pills and stayed home.  Went to my primary female doctor who did an EKG (normal) and on a whim  a blood test.  Left me a message on my answering machine to get to the hospital right away.  Ended up with a triple by-pass but at least I lived.  I filed a complaint against the male ER doctor.