Women with Chest Pain Are More Likely to Delay Care

Women with chest pain are more prone to delay asking for care, according to a study presented last week at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.The study had two parts. First, researchers interviewed patients who had anangiogram (cardiac catheterization) about their experience with the chest pain that led their doctors to recommend the test.The second part highlighted the different responses based on gender. Researchers specifically asked patients about their symptoms and what caused them to seek medical care. The researchers described stages that the patients experienced that led to a “symptomatic tipping point,” ultimately getting them to seek medical care.Women and men experience the same stages (uncertainty, denial/dismissal, seeking advice from a loved one, recognition of the seriousness of the symptoms, seeking medical attention and acceptance of the condition). Yet the study demonstrated that women with chest pain stayed in the “denial/dismissal stage” far longer than men.Women with chest pain are much more likely than men to wait for symptoms to get worse or more frequent before they seek medical care. Men were more likely to ask a colleague or loved one for advice. Women often waited for someone to tell them that they looked sick before they asked for help. The study described the women as having a more “optimistic bias” and hopeful that the symptoms would pass.Other issues can also prevent women with chest pain from acting quickly. Their frequent role as caregiver causes women to focus on others’ needs before their own.Women with Chest Pain: Don’t Wait!Delaying medical care can cause a worse cardiac outcome. Cardiologists often say that “time is muscle” because the best treatment options are far more effective in the earliest stages of a heart attack. They might even be useless if you seek care too late.We know that heart disease is the number one killer of women. Still, women’s awareness of this issue is still lacking. Recent data show that only a little more than half of women know that heart disease is their number one risk. That number is far lower in African-American and Latina women.If women still think of heart disease as a “ man’s disease,” it’s even more likely they will ignore cardiac symptoms. Making the matter worse, women sometimes have atypical symptoms of a heart attack. Rather than experiencing the traditional chest heaviness, women may experience breathlessness, fatigue or palpitations instead.To reduce the possibility of having a heart attack, first learn your individual risk for heart disease. Then work with your doctor to evaluate and manage that risk. As much as 75 to 80% of heart disease is preventable through early identification and risk-factor reduction. Simple lifestyle changes — eating a healthy diet, exercising and managing your stress — can have a real effect.This post was written by Stacey Rosen, MD, vice president of women’s health at the Katz Institute for Women’s Health, which is part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System.For more North Shore-LIJ Health Blog posts, go to http://blog.northshorelij.com/Contents of the health blog are the property of North Shore-LIJ Health System and are provided as a health resource for consumers, health care professionals and members of the media. The medical content on the North Shore-LIJ Health Blog is for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for consultation with your physician regarding diagnosis, treatment or any other form of specific medical advice. These materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. “North Shore-LIJ Health System,” “North Shore-LIJ,” “northshorelij.com,” “VivoHealth,” their related entities and logos are trademarks of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. Copyright © 2011 North Shore-LIJ Health System. All rights reserved.