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Something all women should be aware of. - 11/20/2014 4:27:58 AM

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A few days ago we went along to an early Xmas party (I know...crazy) and I got chatting to a NZ guy who has spent the last year in the UK working as a GP (General Practitioner). I was interested to understand how the New Zealand system worked and so he filled me in. The topic moved on and so I brought up something that concerns me greatly. I asked him, “if a middle aged woman walked into your surgery complaining of sweating, sudden and ongoing fatigue, upper back pain and shortness of breath, would you be concerned about her heart and would you refer her the “Rapid Pain Clinic?” His answer was, “If a middle aged otherwise healthy woman came to me with those symptoms I would probably diagnose her with flu,” but quickly went on to reassure me that its much rarer for women to have heart attacks than men and if she was having a heart attack she would of been dead before she reached my surgery.

I don’t know about America but the UK is notorious for ignoring women with heart conditions and even heart attacks. Heart attacks are crushing chest pains that have us sitting on the floor holding onto our chest and often crying from crippling pain...right?. The symptoms of a heart attack in women can be much more subtle, in fact many women just think they are going down with the flu and take themselves off to bed, not wanting to bother anyone. Around 40,000 women in the UK will die from a heart attack every year (remember we are a tiny country) and many of those women will of visited their GP only to be reassured and sent home to die.

http://www.womensheart.org/content/heartdisease/heart_disease_facts.asp
42% of women who have heart attacks die within 1 year, compared to 24% of men. Under age 50, women's heart attacks are twice as likely as men's to be fatal. 267,000 women die each year from heart attacks, which kill six times as many women as breast cancer.

More GP’s need educating so that women stop needlessly dying and more women need to educate themselves regarding symptoms to be wary about.

Sorry, there is no questions but if I put this up as a blog hardly anyone would read it.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/20/2014 5:53:07 AM

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Great topic,one very infrequently discussed so I will add if I can saying this. I know an oncologist with the most successful privately funded "Quit Smoking" program in the country who would completely agree with you. Really great guy from Chicago who said his students when he was a professor of medicine would always use the term "end stage", like "end stage COPD" so he would tell them to open up their textbooks and let him know where in there it has that term. They returned to him and said it's not there. He said, "precisely, there is stage 4 COPD, but not end stage. That term is commonly used bu it doesn't exist. It is a way for the doctors to resign themselves to possible loss of the patient. He has had people with stage 4 COPD who gave up smoking for good and are healthier individuals today. Twenty four hours after smoking, your chances of a coronary are cut in half, Not to mention birth control pills quadruple your chances of having a heart condition. This is something more women should be aware of and I agree completely about re-educating the doctors.
Huckabee, a Republican who dealt with the challenges of obesity had this gripe about the health sector. He said it was 15% preventive and 85% treatment. Healthcare is an extremely profitable industry and as my oncologist friend said. "You make more money with a scalpel than a stethoscope." I don't see this changing without some form of socialist intervention. It is the only way to curtail the free markets no matter your stance on this issue. I applaud you for bringing this issue to the forefront. So many discussions should be had about our progress as a species, both in the public and private sector. The unfortunate thing is many forsake their ideals and beliefs to pander to their voting base or lobbyists.
In a socialist model of healthcare, the quintessential would be streamlining costs and greater patient care by having more preventive measures in place for individuals so major costs would be curtailed to insurance companies and doctors would get a broader patient base, but then we would need many more doctors or of course there would be an issue with waiting lists. Perhaps a special immigration policy specifically geared for healthcare workers.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/20/2014 7:59:48 AM

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Thank you Goddess Manko

Twenty four hours after smoking, your chances of a coronary are cut in halfThat is incredible.

I agree with you about the severe lack in preventable medicine. Even here with the National Health Service which still holds a lot of socialist principles, we only spend an estimated 4% of the NHS budget on prevention programmes. That's no surprise because our NHS has been in jeopardy for years. The social system, under government intervention is selling us out and its becoming bigger and bigger business for the profiteers. Anyone who is English should watch this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ultKvnw2h3Q and understand that we are a steam train heading towards an American type system.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/20/2014 1:51:02 PM

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With that said, my ophthalmologist trained in India. He had family in London so went there hoping to practice. But he was appalled by how far behind the equipment was. The doctors in London said they were resigned to practice using methods 20 years out of date. If he wanted modern equipment so he could do operations outpatient, that he should go to the US.

I'm glad he did. He's the top doctor outside of the NYC area and has people coming to him who live hours away.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/21/2014 6:05:57 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DesFIP

With that said, my ophthalmologist trained in India. He had family in London so went there hoping to practice. But he was appalled by how far behind the equipment was. The doctors in London said they were resigned to practice using methods 20 years out of date. If he wanted modern equipment so he could do operations outpatient, that he should go to the US.

I'm glad he did. He's the top doctor outside of the NYC area and has people coming to him who live hours away.

I don't think specialists in general are practising with antiquated equipment but they certainly are in some departments.

I have no idea what the diagnostic machinery for ophthalmology is like in the UK but interestingly enough my husband recently had eye problems that needed investigating and he had to travel to a London hospital because the outer hospitals didn’t have the up to date equipment.

Interestingly, America is behind Britain when it comes to life expectancy; in fact the US is 38th in the world for life expectancy overall. British people live healthier lifestyles than their American cousins but only slightly. We are also more likely to visit our doctor for minor issues that could go on to be more serious issues if we didn’t make those early visits...basically we are a bunch of hypercondriacs! On the other hand, a person with a serious illness who needs surgical treatment in the UK face a higher risk of dying under the knife than those in America. We also have a shortage of specialists and a lack of intensive (post-operative) beds than our American counterparts and we lack ER facilities and so people are more likely to die on-route to hospital than those in America.

I still think that American health care is the envy of the world in some categories but they rank embarrassingly low in others.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/24/2014 4:30:39 AM

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Great topic, I just want to correct one bit of info given. While your risk of having a sudden heart attack does go down 24 hours after your last cigarette, it takes a year or more for your chances of heart problems to drop 50%.

As I make it to day 2 of quitting, for the 3rd time this year!

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007532.htm

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/24/2014 3:14:39 PM

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Jus...
I quit 2 months ago...I have tried many times over the years...this time it really stuck for some reason. If you need a quit buddy, send me a pm!!!

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/25/2014 6:42:10 AM

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Thank you JstAnotherSub and well done Blonderfluff. I know how difficult it can be to give up smoking and I do believe its a lot harder for some than it is for others.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/25/2014 12:26:07 PM

hlen5

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quote:

ORIGINAL: MariaB

.....................I still think that American health care is the envy of the world in some categories but they rank embarrassingly low in others.

Well said and thanks for starting this!

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". I think the US system is a lot more focused on cure than prevention. Cure is a lot more lucrative!

I find it amazing that a Dr can say that he'd treat those symptoms as the flu! More women die from their first heart attacks because their symptoms aren't taken seriously.

And congrats to Blonder and Jst for quitting! I hope it sticks for both of you!

Signed, Helen, slave to sugar!!

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/25/2014 12:56:58 PM

tj444

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I think each person needs to do their own research on health issues and then find a doctor that they feel is educated and up to speed on that and thinks the way they do.. I used to go to a walk-in clinic in Vancouver, cuz the doctors were young (some really cute too

) and at least had the most recent schooling, rather than go to some crusty old fart that hasn't learned anything new in the last 20 or 30 years.. But even then, I have learned to do my own research and I have thrown away pills costing $200 cuz I decided to make lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, etc) instead of using meds as a crutch and also risking side effects of those meds (some side effects the drug manufacturer denied existed but why that chance?).. I will listen to a doctor (and 2nd, 3rd opinions) make his case and then decide, based on my research, if I accept or reject his advice.. I also went to the University (that one was big into medical research) and went thru medical journals at their library to find info on the latest studies, new procedures, etc..

About heart attacks, some doctors recommend some of their patients take a baby aspirin every day as a bit of prevention, and I seem to recall something about taking aspirin if you think you are having a heart attack (to reduce the damage & severity, etc).. Hey, this isn't medical advice!- talk to your doctor(s), blah, blah, blah (usual disclaimer)

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/daily-aspirin-therapy/art-20046797

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/aspirin-for-heart-attack-and-unstable-angina

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/26/2014 5:27:29 AM

WinsomeDefiance

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When I went in recently, to see my DR with similar complaints as in the OP - my doctors words were: "Well, if you can ride 70 miles a week on your bike, I doubt it is your heart but I have to get you checked out anyway just to be sure." He sent me in for bloodwork and has me scheduled for a stress test. He has even talked to me about how a woman's heart problems can present differently than a mans (I've had this talk with other doctors in the ER as well.) I don't know if it is because I'm in America, or if it is because I have vasculitis which causes inflamation of my blood vessels and high blood pressure etc. that heart concerns are always going to be an issue. Being a homebody who isn't likely to travel, it is interesting to me to learn how different the perceptions and standard practices are in countries I wouldn't expect it to be.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/26/2014 7:34:52 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

But even then, I have learned to do my own research and I have thrown away pills costing $200 cuz I decided to make lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, etc) instead of using meds as a crutch and also risking side effects of those meds (some side effects the drug manufacturer denied existed but why that chance?).. I will listen to a doctor (and 2nd, 3rd opinions) make his case and then decide, based on my research, if I accept or reject his advice.

This. So very much this. When I go to the doctor, I go for the official diagnosis. Treatment and who will be supervising my treatment? That's on me to vet. My body is capable of so much more healing than my doctor gives it credit for.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/27/2014 8:11:51 AM

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We obviously pay for medical treatment in the UK but charges are never something we think about because its just a tax deduction that has gone on all our working lives. For that reason we tend to treat our doctors like they are doing us some big favour and people even feel embarrassed about wasting their time. If we do decide to go down the private route, which is always an option open to us, we expect a lot more because we are visibly paying him a fee. I may be wrong but because Americans can visibly see what they are paying their doctor, are they not more expectant of that doctors services?

WinsomeDefiance, I would expect any doctor presented with possible heart symptoms, no matter how vague in a patient who has a diagnosis of vasculitis and high blood pressure to be thoroughly checked. Its good to know your doctor understood what are often extreme differences of heart attack symptoms between men and women.

Thank you hlen5 Recently on here I have been called a scare mongerer. All I'm trying to do is make women aware so that they can look out for themselves and perhaps be quicker to recognize something going wrong with their own heart or that of a female relative/friend. Everyone has a choice to educate themselves or not. I believe its worth a few minutes of any woman's time.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 11/29/2014 10:15:53 PM

hlen5

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You're welcome! I don't think what you said is alarmist at all.

I think in the US, we DO expect to have our concerns taken seriously. I have an 80/20 plan which means I pay 20% of my medical costs AFTER I meet my yearly deductible ($3000). Luckily I'm pretty healthy. Unluckily, I'm currently paying off $900.+ for a $2500+ diagnostic test (Results were negative, yay!!). I don't know what the excision will cost in 3 weeks.

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RE: Something all women should be aware of. - 3/20/2015 11:33:51 AM

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This is from a nurse who describes what she went through wwhen she had a heart attack it has some useful insight. http://scrubsmag.com/er-nurses-description-of-a-heart-attack/

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