Why women are more likely than men to die after heart attacks

Some New York women who have heart attacks may not recognize their symptoms because those symptoms tend to differ from the more highly-publicized ones suffered by men. Furthermore, medical professionals may not treat women's heart attacks as aggressively as men's. The Journal of the American Heart Association has published research that says women are more likely to die in the year after a heart attack than men. The reason appears to be the type of care women receive in the wake of such an attack.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a type of heart attack that can be particularly dangerous because it is often suffered by women younger than 50 who do not have a history of heart disease. People often do not think of women in this demographic as being vulnerable to a heart attack. Furthermore, heart attack symptoms for women may include things such as nausea, cold sweats, fatigue and abdominal pain. According to a study by the British Heart Foundation, as many as half of women who have a heart attack get the wrong diagnosis immediately after the incident.

A Swedish study found that women there were 34 percent less likely to get procedures such as stent insertions and bypasses after a heart attack. They were also less likely to get blood thinners or statins.

As this research demonstrates, a doctor's misdiagnosis can be fatal. Even when it is not, a person could still suffer a serious health setback. A person who was harmed by a misdiagnosis or a medical professional's failure to offer a particular procedure or treatment may want to consult an attorney. In order to be successful, an attorney representing the patient will need to demonstrate that the health care practitioner failed to provide the requisite standard of care.