Women suffering heart attack get to ER far later

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Women with heart attack
symptoms take far longer to get to the hospital than men do,
according to a study in Ireland.

Men, meanwhile, are more likely than women to make the
dangerous choice of driving themselves to the emergency room,
researchers found.

The study, according to the authors, suggests that all
adults — but especially women — need to be educated on the
proper response to heart attack symptoms.

The findings are published in the February issue of the
Journal of Advanced Nursing.

The study included 890 heart attack patients treated at six
hospitals in Dublin over one year. Overall, it found, women
took far longer than men did to arrive at the ER after their
first symptoms — an average of 14 hours, versus three hours
for men.

Women, more than men, tended to attribute their symptoms —
such as chest discomfort, shortness of breath and
light-headedness — to benign causes like indigestion.

In addition, both sexes had misperceptions of what a heart
attack entails; many thought a heart attack would be
“dramatic,” causing them to fall to the ground, clutching their
chest.

But the long treatment delay among women, specifically,
suggests that another long-held misperception — that heart
attacks are a man’s problem — still needs to be banished,
according to lead study author Dr. Sharon O’Donnell of Trinity
College in Dublin.

“Women need to be much more aware of the risks they face
from heart attacks and the importance of seeking prompt
treatment,” she said in a statement.

In a previous study, O’Donnell and her colleagues found
that women also face longer treatment delays after they arrive
at the hospital — signaling a need for greater awareness of
women’s heart risks even among hospital staff.

In the current study, only about 60 percent of both men and
women called an ambulance to get them to the hospital. The most
common alternative was to have a family member or friend drive
them.

But some heart attack sufferers — mostly men — drove
themselves to the ER. Overall, seven percent of men drove
themselves, compared with one percent of women.

These patients typically said they did so because they
thought it was the fastest way to get to the hospital. But many
also admitted that they were on the verge of “collapse” once
they did arrive.

“Driving during a heart attack is obviously extremely
dangerous for both the driver and the general public,”
O’Donnell said.

Calling an ambulance is the best move, experts advise, not
only because it’s safer, but also because paramedics can begin
treatment immediately, and because patients who arrive at the
hospital by ambulance tend to receive treatment more promptly.

SOURCE: Journal of Advanced Nursing, February 2006.