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Why Is Heart Disease Harder to Treat in Women?

Why Is Heart Disease Harder to Treat in Women? (0:42)

Oftentimes when women have heart disease, they are unaware because their symptoms are less clear than in men, making it harder to diagnose and treat. Watch cardiologist Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, explain how heart disease symptoms are subtler in women.

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Oftentimes when women have heart disease they're unaware, their symptoms might not be as clear as it is in men, and they might present with heart disease later, and in fact, be sicker when they're diagnosed. It is really a challenge diagnosing heart disease in women, but once we do, prevention and aggressive treatment is critical.

Heart disease in women is not as clear as it is in men, symptoms could be more subtle, and also as women are, we tend to put ourselves last, and always think that it's going to go away, we're going to be fine and tend really not to seek out help until much later.