Women with Heart Attacks

Many women experiencing heart attack symptoms forgo calling 911.
In the USA Today (3/8) Your Health column, Kim Painter points out that an American Heart Association survey reveals that "just over half of" the female respondents "said they would" call 911 in the event of a heart attack. "Instead, many women would call their doctors, take an aspirin, or get to a hospital on their own, says study author Lori Mosca, director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center." This trend is not gender exclusive, as "many men also respond to ominous symptoms with denial, says Angela Gardner, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians."