To coincide with our HER Disease campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of how women are affected and dying needlessly from heart disease, we conducted a survey to find out how aware women are of their risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD).
We questioned 2,000 adults about heart disease and found that:
- Two fifths of women (37%) have never had their cholesterol checked
- Three quarters of women (73%) don’t realise that CHD claims twice as many lives as breast cancer each year in the UK
- Three in five women (60%) don’t realise that the risk of CHD increases after menopause
The new data points to a lack of information given to women about their own risk of developing CHD.
CHD is what usually causes a heart attack. In the UK, 32,000 women are admitted to hospital following a heart attack each year, an average of four (3.67) per hour.
Sally Bee suffered her first of five heart attacks when she was 36 and was initially misdiagnosed. Read her story here.
Our survey also found that there was a lack of awareness of heart attack symptoms different from the key ones. For example, 73% of the respondents were not aware that an overwhelming feeling of anxiety can be a symptom of heart attack.
Professor Chris P Gale, Consultant Cardiologist at the University of Leeds, says:
“There remain huge opportunities to better inform women about the risks and devastating outcomes of coronary heart disease. The identification of high blood pressure and high cholesterol are key and necessary steps in reducing the burden of CHD in women.
“Identifying and treating modifiable risk factors for CHD are the cornerstone of the prevention of heart attacks. I’m astonished by the results of Heart Research UK’s survey – which found a third of the women surveyed have never had their cholesterol checked.
“It is equally as important that individuals who think they’re having a heart attack don’t delay in seeking emergency help. Evidence-based and timely treatment for heart attack dramatically improves the outlook, and this can only be provided by the emergency medical services and specialists in hospital. Women also have heart attacks – CHD it is not a disease found only in men.”
Find out more about the campaign using the links below
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