Although twice as many women die each year from heart disease than from all cancers combined, many of them do not see it as a health risk likely to affect them, a new study has found.
A survey of 989 people conducted by Millward Brown IMS on behalf of the Women's Health Council reveals that a majority of women and men rank breast cancer as the number one killer in Ireland for women.
The Women's Health Council, which is an advisory body to the Minister for Health and Children, has released a fact-sheet on
Cardiovascular Risk in Women and Men,which is intended to educate people about heart disease.
According to the survey, 37 per cent of women see heart disease as a condition that mainly affects men. This is despite the fact that women are as likely to be affected by cardiovascular disease.
Between 2001 and 2005, an average of 2,484 women died each year from heart disease in Ireland.
Although breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women, heart disease kills far more women each year.
In 2005, 678 women died from breast cancer in Ireland, compared with 2,225 from ischaemic heart disease, figures from the council show.
The research also reveals that a majority of adults are not aware that women may have different symptoms of heart disease to men.
According to the counicl, part of the problem of recognising women as being at equal risk of heart disease may be due to the fact that the disease has been shown to manifest itself differently in women. For example, women may not present with the chest pain that is the generally accepted symptom of heart disease. Instead, they may experience symptoms such as neck, shoulder or abdominal discomfort, dyspnea, fatigue, nausea or vomiting.
Overall, 63 per cent of survey participants believed that the symptoms are the same for men and women, and only 16 per cent of both sexes knew that women's symptoms may be different.
"It is essential that the same emphasis is applied to the management of heart disease among women as is applied among men, and that women receive appropriate levels of care, in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease", said Geraldine Luddy, director of the Women's Health Council at the launch of the fact-sheet.
The council has previously worked with the Irish Council of General Practitioners to make GPs aware of the issues at stake for women, and is currently working with the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM) to produce material for staff in hospital emergency departments.
