Home / Health / NHS Prioritizes Women's Heart Attacks
NHS Prioritizes Women's Heart Attacks
28 Aug
Summary
- Women's heart attack cases, like SCAD, will now receive priority treatment.
- New international guidance upgrades SCAD heart attacks as primary events.
- Research shows women are 50% more likely to receive incorrect initial diagnosis.
Effective immediately, the NHS will prioritize women experiencing heart attacks, including Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD). This significant change follows new international guidance that recategorizes SCAD and similar heart conditions predominantly affecting women as 'primary' heart attacks. Previously, these events were often deprioritized or misdiagnosed, leading to dangerous delays in treatment for thousands of women each year. Research indicates women are 50% more likely to receive an incorrect initial diagnosis. This unconscious bias among some medical professionals, stemming from the assumption that heart attacks are primarily a male concern, is now being directly addressed. Allison Lawson, who suffered a SCAD in September 2024, shared her experience, highlighting the terror of initial diagnostic uncertainty. She underwent an angiogram and angioplasty, followed by a three-day stay in cardiac intensive care. Lawson now advocates for greater recognition and understanding of SCAD. Approximately 1,500 SCAD heart attacks occur annually in the UK. Ongoing research is also exploring genetic links to SCAD, potentially explaining why healthy individuals can be at risk without warning. The exact causes of SCAD, however, remain unclear.
