Saturday, September 24, 2005

Yawn . . . tell me where it hurts

Women Wait Longer to Be Treated for Heart Attack

An article in the October 2005 issue of The Journal of Advanced Nursing reports that women who suffer heart attacks wait longer to be assessed, admitted and treated than men. Based on a study of 613 men and 277 women admitted to coronary care units in six Dublin hospitals, investigators from the University of Dublin, Trinity College found that, on average, women were medically assessed 30 minutes after arrival, compared with 20 minutes for men, and the average time it took for women to be transferred to the coronary care unit was 54 minutes longer than for men. Noting that some heart attacks are more difficult to assess, the researchers said that the study "does raise important concerns about equitable healthcare practice and we hope that it will prompt further investigation and discussion." (Medical News Today, 9/13/05)

No comments: