Medical sexism is putting women's lives in danger

A new report has shone a light on how heart disease is being underdiagnosed, undertreated and underrepresented’ in the NHS. But the rot doesn’t stop there

- Helen Coffey

Heart disease is the biggest killer of women in the UK and worldwide. Did you know that? I certainly didn’t. Anything related to cardiovascular illness has long been painted as a “male disease”, conjuring up the vision of an overweight, middle-aged man having a heart attack – an erroneous stereotype that is, quite literally, killing women.

But while the above fact might have surprised me, the revelation that ingrained sexism in our healthcare system is leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths, as highlighted by a new report published in the medical journal Heart, did not. A group of 33 cardio experts put forth a joint statement, demanding that the NHS take action to improve care for women. Despite more than 3.6 million UK women having heart disease, it goes “underdiagnosed, undertreated and underrepresented” – because they are often not involved in clinical trials, don’t get the same access to lifesaving treatment and, grimmest of all, frequently have symptoms such as high blood pressure dismissed by doctors.

“Heart disease does not discriminate by sex,” say the experts – and yet medical professionals seemingly do. If women received the correct treatment, “their lives could be saved”, according to the report’s lead author, Professor Vijay Kunadian of Newcastle University. Instead, national databases show that, time and again, they are being misdiagnosed, leading to higher death rates following heart attacks.

“We can’t ignore that anymore,” said Prof Kunadian. “People assume it is a men’s disease. When a man complains he is more likely to get the attention from the ambulance or the doctors, for example.”