April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
In the US, every 33 seconds someone dies from cardiovascular disease and, according to The Heart Foundation, more than 920,000 will have a heart attack this year alone.
Men and women suffering a heart attack go through very similar stages of pain, but their reactions are very different. According to a study presented at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress (CCC), women will delay seeking care, putting their health at risk.
“The main danger is that when someone comes to the hospital with a more severe or advanced stage of heart disease, there are simply fewer treatment options available,” said Dr. Catherine Kreatsoulas, a Fulbright Scholar and Heart and Stroke Foundation Research Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Enough isn’t known about how people perceive heart symptoms, Kreatsoulas said, nor at what stage they should decide to seek medical care. The new study, which was conducted in two parts, made use of patients with suspected coronary artery disease, just before they underwent their first coronary angiogram test.
In the first part of the study, Kreatsoulas’ team interviewed cardiac patients regarding their experience with angina. The patients were also questioned about their decision to seek medical care. The second phase of the study included a new set of patients. The research team used their answers to quantify reasons for seeking care by gender.
Angina is a warning signal that you are at risk of heart attack, cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death. Angina — which can present as pressure, tightness or burning — occurs when the heart doesn’t receive enough blood and oxygen because of a blockage of one or more of the heart’s arteries.
The team developed a theory of the “symptomatic tipping point,” which is defined as that transitional period between experiencing cardiac symptoms and seeking medical care. Six transitional stages, common to both men and women, were identified.
The stages below are in chronological order:
1. uncertainty, during which the patient attributes symptoms to another health issue
2. denial or dismissal
3. asking for assistance or opinion of a friend or family member
4. a feeling of defeat when symptoms are recognized for what they are
5. seeking medical attention
6. acceptance of diagnosis
The researchers found that women stayed in stage 2 – denial – longer than men, waiting “for others to tell them they looked horrible,” said Dr. Kreatsoulas. “Women displayed more of an optimistic bias, feeling that the symptoms would pass and get better on their own.”
The results of the second phase of the study upheld this belief. The researchers found that women were one and a half times more likely to wait for symptoms to become more severe and more frequent before seeking medical care than men.
Kreatsoulas attributes this to women prioritizing differently than men — such as on caregiving or from risk aversion. She cites prior studies which found when women are ill, “they are often more concerned with how long they may be out of commission and not necessarily as concerned about the best treatment options.” Women are also more likely to dismiss symptoms when they feel even a small improvement.
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