Why do women die more of heart attack than men do? Is this because symptoms are ignored in women or that they are less likely to get the treatment.
A group of researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark gays that women are less likely to get life-saving treatment for cardiogenic shock than men. They pointed out that this increased the risk in women.
CARDIOGENIC SHOCK AND WOMEN
It is a life-threatening condition in which the heart suddenly fails to pump enough blood to supply the body’s organs with sufficient oxygen. Only half of patients who experience cardiogenic shock will survive.
The researchers claimed that lower proportions of women received mechanical circulatory support. They said that when 19 per cent women received the support, 26 per cent men received it. They also received minimal invasive or surgical procedures to restore blood flow to blocked arteries. When 83 per cent women received this, 88 per cent men received this. With respect to mechanical ventilation, when 67 per cent women received it, 82 per cent men got it. This shows how much care a woman receives.
The researchers also noted that just 38 per cent of women were alive compared with 50 per cent of men women at 30 days after the heart event.
SYMPTOMS
Dr. Sarah Holle from the varsity opined that increased evidence showed that women with acute heart problems are more likely than men to have nonspecific symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, coughing, vomiting, fatigue, and pain in the back, jaw or neck. She also mentioned that recognition that women may have symptoms other than chest pain could minimise delays in diagnosis and treatment and potentially improve prognosis.
The findings were presented at ESC Acute Cardio Vascular Care 2022, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
A total of 1,716 heart attack patients with cardiogenic shock were enrolled in the study, of which 438 (26 per cent) were women. The average age of women was 71 years compared with 66 years for men.
