Category: Diagnosing – and misdiagnosing

– posts here focus on how difficult it often is to get an accurate heart disease diagnosis in women

Women’s cardiac care: is it gender difference – or gender bias?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

woman man novelties

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

At the WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium last fall, Mayo Clinic cardiologists told us that, when it comes to women, heart disease is much more than an equal opportunity health threat.  Women with heart disease are underdiagnosed (and undertreated even when accurately diagnosed) compared to men presenting with the same condition.  And we also have more deadly outcomes compared to men.

Did you know that more women than men die of heart disease each year in North America? What I found particularly appalling was a 2005 American Heart Association study that found only 8% of family doctors were aware of this fact, and (even worse!) only 17% of cardiologists were aware.

Here are some other examples that may help to explain gender bias in diagnosis and treatment of women’s heart disease: Continue reading “Women’s cardiac care: is it gender difference – or gender bias?” →

An open letter to all hospital staff

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 13 Comments

hospital

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

Dear hospital employees,

After a particularly bizarre experience undergoing a treadmill stress echocardiogram at your hospital recently, I decided to do something that I have never done before.  I called the Cardiology Department manager to complain about her staff.  (Incidentally, a recent opinion survey of international travellers found that Canadians were #1 in only one category:  “Least likely to complain when things go wrong” – so you can appreciate that lodging an official complaint is a fairly Big Deal here!)

In my best PR fashion, I told the manager how distressing the appointment had been for me because of the behaviour of the two cardiac technicians in the room.  Continue reading “An open letter to all hospital staff” →

My cardiologist: “the devil himself”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

devil on brown paper

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Letters to the Editor, Victoria Times Colonist

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

‘Dress codes in hospital should respect patients’

Dear Editor,

In May, I had to stay in the Royal Jubilee Hospital cardiology ward. At that time they decided to do a cardio conversion. Then in walks the devil himself to do the task. He wore tight jeans, a shirt of some ungodly print and had curly hair hanging down past his bum. Not OK. I am a 66-year-old woman with a serious heart condition and I just wanted to get up and run.

Whatever happened to dress code? A white coat and clean hands gives a person a feeling of confidence. Is it some kind of infringement on these people’s rights? One seldom knows if they are talking to the janitor or head nurse. I feel I deserve better than that in the hospital.

Sincerely,

Mrs. M.A., Victoria, BC  Canada click here to read my response to this letter

Heart attack – or an attack of heartburn?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 31 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

I was sent home from the Emergency Room with a misdiagnosis of heartburn (despite presenting with textbook heart attack symptoms like chest pain, sweating, nausea and pain radiating down my left arm). This was just two weeks before finally being hospitalized with a newly revised diagnosis of  “significant heart disease” and myocardial infarction (heart attack) caused by a fully occluded left anterior descending coronary artery – the so-called “widowmaker” heart attack.

Heartburn has nothing to do with your heart; it’s a digestive problem. Acidic liquid from your stomach can back up into your esophagus where it inflames the lining. But symptoms can appear confusingly similar.

How to tell if you’re having a heart attack or just an attack of simple heartburn?

Here’s how heartburn may be markedly different from a cardiac event:

keep reading…