Yet young women in this study of 18- to 55-year-olds were less likely to receive an EKG at all: About 74% did, compared to 79% of men. Women were also less often seen by a consultant, like a cardiologist (8.5% versus 12%), or placed on cardiac monitoring (25% versus 30%).
Banco will present the findings Saturday at the ACC’s annual meeting, being held online. Studies reported at meetings are generally considered preliminary until they are published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Dr. Ileana Piña, a volunteer medical expert with the American Heart Association, was unsurprised by the findings.
“The perception that women don’t get heart disease is still out there,” said Piña, a clinical professor of medicine at Central Michigan University.
She said examples abound where women’s symptoms are written off as stress or indigestion. That’s despite the fact that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women, Piña said.
What should women do?
First, it’s important to know the symptoms of heart attack, and act on them, all three doctors said.
Be aware, Reynolds said, that heart attacks often cause discomfort — rather than crushing pain — in the chest. And women are more likely than men to suffer certain other symptoms, including shortness of breath, nausea and pain that moves into the jaw or upper back.