One woman dies every hour in Australia from heart disease, according to St Vincent’s Hospital research
THE NUMBER one killer of women in Australia is heart disease, a leading health professional has warned.
Dr Linda Worrall-Carter is calling for action on women’s heart health.
“One woman dies every hour in Australia from heart disease,” Dr Worrall-Carter said.
“I want women to know it’s their biggest killer.
“The good news is 80 per cent of heart disease is preventable.”
Alarmingly, the biggest growth area in heart disease is among 25-40 year olds, the Warrandyte resident said.
RELATED:Melbourne University research links negative Twitter outbursts to heart disease
“This is not an old woman’s disease,” she said.
She recalled hearing about a patient who had been treated for heart disease – a 35-year-old woman with two young children.
“Unfortunately that’s nothing out of the ordinary,” she said.
Dr Worrall-Carter was a researcher at St Vincents Hospital with more than 25 years experience in the medical field including nursing and teaching.
She stepped down last year to start the non-profit organisation Her Heart to raise awareness of heart disease.
“I’ve spent 15 years researching this disease, I felt like we know the statistics now, I want to do something about it.”
Dr Worrall-Carter said barriers to better outcomes for women included lack of awareness, poor symptom recognition and misdiagnosis.
She said women also often delayed seeking treatment.
“It can be for many reasons, out of embarrassment or in order not to be a burden on others,” she said.
“They’ll phone a friend, they’ll have a rest, they’ll put on the casserole so no one’s hungry at dinner … they’ll prioritise others over themselves which puts themselves at risk.”
She said those delays led to poorer outcomes for women compared with men.
“Heart attack is more fatal in women than in men. If you have unusual pain then you should always get medical attention.
“If it’s a false alarm, you won’t die of embarrassment, but you can die from heart disease.”