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Woman's Risk of Dying After Heart Attack, Stroke Higher Than a Man's: Report

Posted on: Wednesday, 31 January 2007, 15:00 CST

By SHERYL UBELACKER

TORONTO (CP) - Women face a significantly higher risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke than men, says a report by the Heart and Stroke Foundation, which says more must be done to close this ever-widening gender gap.

This year's annual report by the foundation shines the spotlight on cardiovascular disease among women - and it shows that compared with men, women are less likely to be treated by a specialist, transferred to another facility for treatment or receive procedures such as angioplasty to open up clogged arteries or cardiac bypass surgery.

"For years it was assumed that this occurred because women were older and tended to be sicker when they were hospitalized," Dr. Beth Abramson, a Toronto cardiologist and foundation spokeswoman, told a news conference Wednesday.

"But even when you control for age and other health conditions, a woman's risk of dying within the first 30 days is 16 per cent higher than a man's for a heart attack and 11 per cent higher for stroke."

"It's a grave concern that women's heart health has not kept pace with men's."

About 30 years ago, far fewer women died of heart attacks and strokes in Canada than did men, she said. But that gap has steadily closed, so that today the two cardiovascular events are equal-opportunity killers: 37,000 of each sex die per year.

Abramson said not enough Canadians are referred to cardiologists - and women fare worse than men. Only 32 per cent of women see heart specialists after a heart attack compared to 38 per cent of men.

"Research has shown that when patients are cared for by a cardiologist, outcomes are better," she said. "The risk of dying from heart disease is 47 per cent lower for patients treated by a specialist."

There are several possible theories as to why progress against cardiovascular disease for women has not advanced at the same pace as progress for men. Among them are poorer access to care, biological differences that make women respond differently to drugs and other treatments and numerous social factors.

One factor, Abramson suggested, is that "women may be socialized to care for others at the expense of themselves."

The foundation is calling on the health-care system to work on prevention, as well as treatments tailored to women's needs.

And it wants government to improve tracking of cardiovascular disease among Canadians across the country, said Stephen Samis, the foundation's director of health policy.

Samis said Canada lacks the appropriate data for the population - and that must be improved if the gender gap that harms women is to be closed.

"We really can't map out solutions without being able to clearly identify the scope and severity of the problem."

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On the Net:

www.heartandstroke.ca

Source: Canadian Press

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