Until recently, heart disease was only studied in men, despite the fact that it is not a generic condition. Women and men suffer from heart disease differently, yet male experience has been viewed as the norm and, for far too long, women’s experiences have been overlooked by medical professionals and researchers. Many believe sharp pain in the chest or left arm to be indicative of a heart attack, but this is the prime symptom in men, not in women. While both women and men may experience chest pain, fainting, and epigastric pain, it is neck, back, and jaw pain, nausea, and shortness of breath that are symptoms of myocardial infarction (heart attack) especially common in women.

This means that many women continue to live with various stages of heart disease, and we wait longer to report to emergency department staff when we do experience heart attacks because we fail to recognize the symptoms in ourselves. The absence of the sharp pain typical in men, coupled with women’s customary tolerance of pain, explains why we do not always seek nor receive immediate (or appropriate) medical attention when threatened by a heart attack. (Sadly, many women who do complain to their doctors of chest pain are misdiagnosed with indigestion.)

Moreover, women often have a history of hypertension and congestive heart failure, but not of heart attacks. Women also live longer than men and coronary disease is among the leading causes of disability of elderly women. Because of these gendered dimensions of heart disease (which include research, prevention, and treatment), the myth that heart disease is only a significant risk for men is perpetuated.

Since care for coronary heart disease sufferers is quite costly to the government and therefore taxpayers, research is picking up. While some studies on women and heart disease have been done, it should be noted that risk rates tend to vary for different groups of women due to differences in diet, stress levels, type of employment, decision-making capabilities, age, amount of physical activity, resources, access to quality health care, and so on.

In Northwestern Ontario, where rates of smoking and diabetes are higher than in the south, residents are even more likely to develop and succumb to heart disease. Keeping in mind that models for detection and treatment focus on male experiences of heart disease, it is easy to see how so many women fall through the cracks, and how many more can be expected to do the same.

With the intention of destroying those myths about women and heart disease, improving the management of heart disease in women, and preventing women’s premature deaths, a research project headed by Dr. Lori Chambers, PhD and Dr. Michel Bédard, PhD is now underway. The study aims to measure NWO residents’ knowledge of heart disease so that valuable information may be effectively shared to suit the specific needs of the women in our communities.

All information on heart disease is from a lecture "Women, Health and Medicine" by Dr. P.D. Wakewich, Lakehead University, and the Literature Review section of a Research Proposal by Dr. Lori Chambers, and Dr. Michael Bedard.