Women in Scotland don't receive the same treatment as men after heart attack | News

Women were not given the same treatment as men after a heart attack, according to new research from the University of Aberdeen.

Women in Scotland are less likely than men to receive preventive medication and have more heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease, according to the first national study to assess gender differences in treatment and outcomes after a heart attack. There is a possibility that the risk of

of The study was published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Continue Previous research by the authors The study found that after a diagnosis of heart disease, women's cardiovascular disease mortality rates increased more than men's mortality rates. In this follow-up study, the research team looked specifically at patients who had survived heart attacks and looked closely at the care they received afterwards.

A team led by Dr. Tiberiu Pana analyzed the health records of 15,776 women and 31,287 men who were hospitalized between 2010 and 2016. They looked at long-term treatment and outcomes for about eight years after hospital discharge. year.

Researchers found that women were less likely to receive evidence-based heart attack treatment in hospital and less likely to receive preventive treatment during follow-up. Although women still had lower long-term mortality rates than men, the “female survival advantage'' was less pronounced among people who had a heart attack.

The “female survival advantage'' reflects the consistently reported increase in life expectancy for women, but life expectancy appears to decrease for people who have had a heart attack.

Although the study found no significant differences between different regions of Scotland, the authors suggest that gender differences were more pronounced for people living in areas with higher levels of multiple poverty.

Dr. Pana explains the research results: “Our results confirm that important gender differences exist among heart attack patients in Scotland.

“This is an important finding that can guide patients and physicians to work together to improve prescribing, uptake, and adherence to recommended preventive treatments to reduce the burden of heart disease in our population.”

“These results suggest that long-term outcomes for women after a heart attack can and should be improved.

“We know this is happening and we understand the potential consequences. We now need to focus on why and what we can do about it.” .”

Dr Sonya Babu Narayan, Clinical Director and Consultant Cardiologist at the British Heart Foundation, added: “Data from large numbers of people in different countries has shown time and time again that the odds of having a heart attack again, or being given a drug that can prevent another heart attack, are lower. If you're a woman, your chances of having a future stroke appears to overlap against you.

“Tackling the reasons for this, including by correcting the institutional and societal biases that influence this problem, could help more women in Scotland and beyond to live longer, healthier lives. , that's not a job to fill even for men who need more post-heart attack symptoms, even though men are more likely to receive proven and effective heart attack treatment and prevention. were worse than women.

“We need to do more cardiovascular research, including to save and improve lives after a heart attack in both women and men, and to stop heart attacks from happening. It can happen anywhere, so it's important that existing evidence-based treatments reach women and men when they need them.”

This research was funded by NHS Grampian Charities.

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