Women In Greater Denial When It Comes To Heart Disease

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Heart disease is the number one killer of American women but, according to Harvard researchers, one of the problems could be the fact that women often deny pain.

They studied men and women's responses to chest pain, a warning sign of a possible heart attack. Both men and women experienced initial uncertainty that the chest pain is related to a heart attack, however, women were one and a half times more likely than men to wait for symptoms to become more severe or more frequent before seeking medical attention.

Women stayed in the denial period longer and often waited for others to tell them they looked horrible before seeking medical attention.

The news is from the Canadian Cardiovascular Science meeting and it is important because we know that time spent waiting can cause more opportunity for heart damage.

Essentially…time is muscle.