Heart disease kills approximately 380,000 American women annually, more than all cancers combined, yet women having heart attacks are significantly less likely than men to receive prompt diagnosis and treatment. Research has documented that women's heart attack symptoms frequently differ from the classic crushing chest pain pattern used in training, presenting instead with fatigue, jaw pain, or nausea that clinicians may attribute to anxiety or gastrointestinal causes.
The research base itself reflects historical gender imbalance. Women were excluded from the landmark cardiovascular trials that established standard treatment protocols in the 1980s and 1990s, meaning many guidelines were derived entirely from male populations. Efforts to correct this imbalance are underway, but the medical culture change required to improve women's cardiovascular care will take years to fully implement.
