Thousands of women are "without reason" dying from heart attacks because they receive worse health care than men, a new study found.
The study found that many people, doctors and patients alike, assume that heart disease is a male problem, while women are more likely to have heart attack symptoms or less severe forms of diseases such as indigestion or muscle pain, and delay in seeking help.
Even when they arrive at the hospital, doctors often misdiagnose the problem, which means that women have a lower risk of having a heart attack at first.
This in itself can be fatal, because every minute of treatment delay reduces chances of survival.
"There is still a misunderstanding that men have heart attacks without women," said Chris Gill, a heart disease consultant at the University of Leeds, who oversees the study. "If you miss the chance of treatment at first, it could have a detrimental effect later."
The study found that even when a heart attack was diagnosed, women were less likely to receive life-saving tests and interventions, as well as lack of access to vital medicines or access to rehabilitation programs.
Professor Gill's team found that women were twice as likely to die within a month of a heart attack, but they would survive if they received the same level of treatment as men.
The study followed 690,000 people treated at the UK's Health Services Hospital after a heart attack between 2003 and 2013.
The team analyzed 13 aspects of each patient's treatment, including surveys, drugs and rehabilitation recommended by the International Guidelines after heart attacks. Remarkably, men were more likely to receive health treatment faster.
Women were 34 percent less likely to get angiography within 72 hours of onset of symptoms, the study found.
If heart failure is diagnosed, the procedure for removing the clot is taken only after 46 minutes, compared to 44 minutes for men.
"The two-minute delay may not be important, but the two minutes may make a big difference when we talk about recovery from a heart attack," Professor Gill said.