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Women fear cancer – yet heart disease kills more

Women are neglecting the biggest threat to their health – heart disease – because they are more afraid of dying from cancer. And the NHS may also be guilty of discriminating against women at risk of heart problems, a report for the British Heart Foundation argues.

Only one in four women recognises heart disease as the number one risk to their life expectancy while 40 per cent regard cancer as the biggest threat, according to the report, Take Note of Your Heart, published last month. Among younger women awareness is even lower, with half of 16 to 24-year-olds most afraid of lung and breast cancer and only one in 10 identifying heart disease.

The report partly blames media stereotypes for the skewed picture. A study of UK television soaps reveals that 23 of the 33 characters who have died from heart problems in the past 40 years were men.

But the study also points to research showing potential inequalities in healthcare between men and women at risk of heart disease. Two studies of primary care found men were more likely to have tests and preventive treatment for heart problems.

The suggestion is backed up by results from another study published last month in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The British Women’s Heart and Health Study found that although one in five women aged 60 to 79 have been diagnosed with heart problems by their GPs, only four out of 10 has been prescribed preventative medication, such as aspirin and statins. These figures are lower than those for men, says study co-author Dr Debbie Lawlor of Bristol University.

Take Note of Your Heart is available at www.bhf.org.uk