To coincide with the launch of Heart Research UK’s new campaign HER Disease that seeks to raise awareness of how women are affected and dying needlessly from heart disease, new research has found that women are not aware of their risk of developing CHD.

The charity questioned 2,000 adults about heart disease and found that two fifths (37%) of women have never had their cholesterol checked.

Three quarters of women (73%) don’t realise that coronary heart disease claims more lives than breast cancer each year and a further three in five (60%) women don’t realise that the risk of CHD increases after menopause.

The HER Disease campaign aims to move the dial and help to stop women needlessly dying of heart disease, by encouraging them to take charge of their own heart health.

The new data points to a lack of information given to women about their own risk of developing CHD. The main risk factors of CHD are a poor diet, smoking, alcohol, lack of physical activity, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels and obesity.

In Greater London, nearly 200,000 people are living with CHD and over half of adults are obese or overweight.

A woman’s susceptibility to CHD can also be increased by menopause, due to the declining levels of oestrogen.

Professor Chris P Gale, Consultant Cardiologist at the University of Leeds, says:

“There remain huge opportunities to better inform women about the risks and devastating outcomes of coronary heart disease. The identification of high blood pressure and high cholesterol are key and necessary steps in reducing the burden of CHD in women.”

CHD is what usually causes a heart attack. In the UK, 32,000 women are admitted to hospital following a heart attack each year, an average of four (3.67) per hour.

The new survey revealed that London has the lowest awareness of key heart attack symptoms in Great Britain. Out of all the regions, London has the lowest awareness of symptoms like chest pain (65% aware), a feeling of pressure or heaviness on the chest (51% aware) and chest pain similar to severe indigestion (47% aware). This is significantly lower than the South West with the highest awareness of these symptoms, ranging from 70-84%.

Awareness of heart attack symptoms is vital to ensure people don’t delay seeking medical help, as quick treatment can massively impact the outcomes for the patient.

Sally Bee, motivational speaker and healthy cook, suffered her first of five heart attacks when she was 36, and was initially misdiagnosed.

Describing her heart attack, Sally says: “I had a feeling of impending doom, as if a big black cloud was looming over me. I understood immediately that something very serious was happening to me and that it was beyond my control. I collapsed on the floor, feeling as if my chest was being crushed and struggling to breathe. I felt sick and hot and sweaty.”

The ambulance crew only found a slight abnormality to her heart rhythm but ruled out any heart problems due to her young age and healthy lifestyle. After a few hours at the hospital, she was sent home with indigestion tablets.

Research has shown that women have both a 50% higher chance of receiving the wrong initial diagnosis after a heart attack and are half as likely as men to promptly receive the life-saving treatments they need. As a consequence, an estimated 8,000 women in England and Wales died needlessly from heart attacks over the course of a decade.

Professor Gale continues: “Identifying and treating modifiable risk factors for CHD are the cornerstone of the prevention of heart attacks. I’m astonished by the results of Heart Research UK’s survey – which found a third of the women surveyed have never had their cholesterol checked.

“It is equally as important that individuals who think they’re having a heart attack don’t delay in seeking emergency help. Evidence-based and timely treatment for heart attack dramatically improves the outlook, and this can only be provided by the emergency medical services and specialists in hospital. Women also have heart attacks – CHD it is not a disease found only in men.”

Sally Bee went on to have more heart attacks within the next few weeks. Her heart had sustained so much damage the doctors told her husband and children to say their goodbyes to her.

“I was filled with an all-consuming need and desire and passion not to let myself die. I can’t put into words how strong the feeling was,” Sally says.

Luckily, Sally recovered, but the doctors told her a less healthy person most likely would have died.

Kate Bratt-Farrar, Chief Executive at Heart Research UK, says: “Our survey shows that women still have a limited awareness of their risk of developing CHD, with nearly two fifths never having had their cholesterol levels checked.

“We want to encourage women to know the risk factors of CHD and their own heart health.

“It is also absolutely imperative that everyone is aware of the symptoms of heart attack, both the key symptoms such as chest pain, but also other ones like having an overwhelming feeling of anxiety or sweating. Our survey shows that London has the lowest awareness of key heart attack symptoms compared to the rest of Great Britain.

“We’re very proud of our HER Disease campaign, which hopefully will raise more awareness of how women are affected by heart disease and help save more women’s lives.”