Heart attacks affect both men and women, but long-term affects and symptoms are not the same.
A new study shows women have one-and-a-half times more risk of hospitalization and double the risk of death within the first year after a heart attack compared to men. The study looked at 3,000 people from more than 100 hospitals.
Women were more likely to be back in the hospital if they had other medical conditions before the heart attack, struggled with depression, or were lower income or were younger.
Women also had different symptoms of the initial heart attack. They were less likely to have chest pain compared to men. It also took them longer to go to the hospital after their initial symptoms began.
Women had longer hospitals stays to treat the initial heart attack, were given less effective treatments and fewer had rehab after leaving the hospital.
According to the CDC, about 805,000 people have a heart attack each year in the United States.
