New heart attack definition promises better care for women
Leading cardiovascular health groups have introduced a universal definition for heart attacks to address systemic biases that have historically disadvantaged women. The new guidance aims to improve diagnostic accuracy for heart attack types that are more common in women but frequently overlooked.
Why it matters
This change could significantly improve health outcomes for millions of women by ensuring faster and more accurate treatment for cardiac events.
There has been ‘unintended systematic bias against women’ in the previous guidance, the doctors say. There has been ‘unintended systematic bias against women’ in the previous guidance, the doctors say. Heart attack New heart attack definition promises better care for women Leading cardiovascular health groups reclassify overlooked causes and introduce sex-specific diagnostic thresholds
Prefer the Guardian on Google Doctors have agreed the world’s first universal definition of a heart attack, paving the way for millions of women to finally receive better treatment after decades of being “deprioritised”.
In one of the biggest procedural shake-ups in a generation, the world’s four leading cardiovascular health groups have signed off on new guidance for healthcare professionals when seeing suspected heart attack patients.
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