Women who suffer heart attacks have to wait longer to be assessed, admitted and treated in hospital than men with the same condition, according to a new study.
It says women may be exposed to a greater risk of life-threatening complications and less favourable outcomes than their male counterparts.
On average women had to wait 54 minutes longer than men to be transferred to the coronary care unit from the casualty department.
The study says the image of the typical male heart attack victim must be corrected in the minds of A&E nurses who carry out the initial assessments in casualty departments.
In the study, 890 patients admitted to coronary care units through casualty departments in six major Dublin hospitals were examined.
Women were assessed later, received aspirin later and received treatment to restore blood flow to the heart later than men.
Around 7,000 men and women die from heart attacks each year.
The research was conducted by a team at the School of Nursing at Trinity College Dublin and was funded by the Health Research Board.
