North East women 'dismissing heart attack symptoms' compared to men
Research shows they are failing to seek urgent medical help
Last updated 1st May 2025
We are hearing women in the North East and Teesside are dismissing heart attack symptoms and failing to seek urgent medical help compared to men.
In 2020, Helen Dummett suffered a cardiac arrest at home in Darlington, County Durham when her son Elliott - who was 15 at the time - saved her life with CPR.
She has had a special defibrillator fitted and said: "Quite honestly if I could have prevented what happened from happening, I'd have done everything in my power to avoid it because it just has such an impact upon myself personally but my boys.
"At the end of the day it was a 15 year-old boy and you know I'm his mum. I don't know how he managed to do it if I'm honest. I don't think I could have done it.
"It's roughly around a seven percent survival rate if you've had a cardiac arrest, so I do class myself as one of the fortunate ones.
"The doctors and the services quickly getting there on to the scene and to deliver that immediate CPR was really, really important.
"It happened to me and it's more common than you actually think. There's that anxiety around you being brain damaged, there's that anxiety around recovery and your heart being strong enough."
Research by Healthspan
In the North East, women are more likely to ignore unexplained chest pain, take pain relief and simply wait for it to pass than men.
In fact, nearly half (49%) admit to relying on rest and even indigestion medicine, compared to 22% of men.
And while 44% of males would seek medical help, only 24% of women would do the same.
The research commissioned by Healthspan also reveals that only 56% of women are confident they can recognise the signs of a heart attack in a female, and these can often mimic stress, indigestion or anxiety.
Women are more likely to be sent home from A&E compared to men in published literature.
Only 29% of women feel heart issues are likely to affect them, but 67% believe they aren’t at risk as they live a healthy lifestyle.
Others aren’t concerned because they have no history of heart complaints in their family (50%), have regular check-ups to show up any issues (50%), and believe that they are just too young to worry (8%).
Many women also don’t realise that the odds are stacked against them when it comes to heart health and a range of conditions like PCOS, pregnancy complications, early menopause, and even autoimmune diseases all increase their cardiovascular risk.