Heart medicine in focus: why women are often treated too late

Heart medicine in focus: why women are often treated too late

Today, on March 8, 2025, International Women's Day is used to draw attention to the existing gender differences in medical care. Studies show that women often have different symptoms in heart attacks than men, which leads to later diagnoses and associated health risks. On average 30 minutes later, women come to emergency room than men, which can be fatal because the risk of not surviving a heart attack is higher for women than for men. The gender Health GAP illustrates inequality in medical research and care, a topic that is of great importance for many experts, such as Tageschau.de reported.

In Germany, a study of gender -specific differences in clinical studies was raised in 2004. Nevertheless, it is still stated that many clinical studies are mainly carried out with male subjects, which leads to insufficient consideration of the needs of women. Lena Seegers, cardiologist at the Frankfurt University Hospital, founded the Women’s Health Center in 2023 to close this gap. The center attaches particular importance to gender -specific differences in cardiac medicine and thus shows progress in health care.

progress in medical research

The Women’s Health Center not only takes into account that women often have a variety of symptoms that make the diagnosis difficult, but also that the medical standards are often geared towards men. This procedure can lead to a disadvantage of women. Studies from the United States also show that women are less likely to treat vascular diseases in coronary diseases, while men tend to receive rather innovative and expensive therapies. This inequality runs through various clinical pictures, from depression to asthma to Alzheimer's disease, and requires urgent attention.

Another project that is important in this context is the newly created database of gender differences in internal medicine. This was launched as part of a pilot project at the Charité - University Medicine Berlin and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It comprises over 4,500 scientific publications and aims to improve medical treatment for both women and men. The target group are not only doctors, but also the interested public.

commitment to a fairer supply

women are also underrepresented in management positions within medicine. In Hesse, only 18.4 percent of management positions are female, in surgery this proportion is only 5 percent. In order to strengthen the presence of women in medicine, Katja Schlosser, chief physician in Gießen, founded the association "The Surgeons" in 2021. This association now has over 3,000 members and actively promotes the participation of women in medical professions.

The women's heart center in Frankfurt is an example of positive developments in cross -divisional cooperation. The typical symptoms in women are specifically recorded here in the emergency room, and ECG examinations are now also standard in female patients. Long -term plans for the center include cooperation with other clinics in order to further improve health care for women. It is crucial that both genders will be involved in medical research in the future in order to create individual and fair treatment options, so aerztblatt.de .