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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The study findings are published in the March 25 issue of the journal Circulation.
"Doctors and the general public should realize that out there in the real world, men and women experience these symptoms with a similar frequency," Hemingway said. "When someone sees their doctor with symptoms of angina, the sex of the patient is not the most important factor."
While the study doesn't show that women with angina are under-diagnosed or under-treated, Hemingway thinks that, overall, women with heart disease are less likely to receive appropriate treatment.
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"This is consistent with many observations which suggest that women with suspected or confirmed heart disease are less likely to go for further investigation or treatment," Hemingway said. "This study shows that that general issue may be even more important than we suspected."
One expert on women and heart disease isn't surprised that angina is more common among women.
"This is something we've always believed -- that there was an excess of angina symptoms in women," said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director of the Women's Health Program at New York University Medical Center.
Angina used to be considered a benign symptom in women, added Goldberg, who's the author of Dr. Nieca Goldberg's Complete Guide to Women's Health. "Maybe that's the thing that sent us on the wrong pathway that women didn't have heart disease," she said.
"Just because women don't have as many heart attacks as men, we have to recognize that angina is something that's limiting women from having a good quality of life," she said.
More information
To learn more about angina, visit the American Heart Association.
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