Why women doctors are best for female heart patients

WOMEN who have heart attacks are less likely to die if they see a female doctor, it has been claimed.

A study found that 13.3% died after being treated by a man, compared to 12% of those treated by a woman.

Researchers believe that male doctors are more likely to miss danger signs in women who are admitted to casualty.

When men are having a heart attack, their chest pain tends to make it obvious. But a heart attack in women often starts with harder-to-interpret flu-like symptoms along with an aching jaw and spine.

The US study of nearly 582,000 heart attack victims was carried out by the University of Minnesota.

‘Our work corroborates prior research showing that female doctors tend to produce better patient outcomes than male doctors,’ said Seth Carnahan, a co-author of the study from Washington University in St Louis. ‘The novel part of what we are doing is showing the benefit of having a female doctor is particularly stark for a female patient.’

For heart attack patients, it is vital that their coronary artery is cleared as soon as possible. If doctors miss the signs it can be fatal. The researchers reviewed heart attack cases in Florida from 1991 to 2010.

Under female doctors, 12% of women died and 11.8% of men. But the gap grew starkly when the doctor was a man – 13.3% of women died and 12.6% of men.

The figures suggest a woman would have 5.4% less chance of dying from a heart attack if treated by a doctor of the same sex. The study concluded doctors needed more training in different male and female symptoms.