Experts warn women wait six times longer than men to be diagnosed with heart failure

Experts have warned that as heart failure is seen as a ‘man’s disease’, women are waiting six times longer than men to be diagnosed, and are twice as likely to be misdiagnosed with a condition such as depression or asthma, waiting for an average of 20 weeks for the condition to be identified, compared to three and a half weeks for men.

The report, which follows a survey of 625 heart failure patients, found that one in ten female patients faced a wait of longer than six months for the condition to be diagnosed.

Heart failure currently affects 900,000 people in Britain and the research shows that doctors are more likely to disregard symptoms of heart failure – swollen legs and ankles, increased fatigue and breathlessness, when they are in women.

These delays also mean that each year, tens of thousands of patients are only diagnosed with heart failure when they go to A&E, official data showing that of the 87,480 patients visiting hospital with heart failure in 2018/19, 75 per cent were diagnosed during their first admission, including nearly 50 per cent in A&E.

Professor Martin Cowie, Professor of Cardiology at Imperial College London, said “This new report highlights some major issues surrounding the diagnosis of heart failure in the NHS.

“In particular, there is a striking gender gap in the speed and accuracy of the diagnosis for women compared with men.

“Too often heart problems are seen as a man’s disease – and are not even considered in a woman. This needs to change.

“Thankfully, we have simple blood tests that can help point doctors in the right direction – with good evidence that this speeds up the time from symptoms first developing to an accurate diagnosis and the start of life-saving therapy.

“We have these tools – and we must start using them properly right across the country.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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