Women who suffer heart attacks wait longer to be assessed and treated than men in Dublin hospitals, according to new research.
A study published in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursingsaid women were being exposed to a greater rate of life-threatening complications and less favourable outcomes than their male counterparts.
The study analysed 890 patients admitted to coronary care units via casualty departments at the six main Dublin teaching hospitals.
It found the average time it took for women to be transferred to the coronary care unit from the casualty department was 54 minutes longer than men.
It also found 40 per cent of women failed to receive vital treatment because healthcare staff stated it was "too late" to be clinically effective.
The study says women were on average assessed 30 minutes after arriving in casualty departments, compared with 20 minutes for men.
Most women were given aspirin only after a 55-minute wait compared with an average wait of 33 minutes for men.
Women were forced to wait an average of 70 minutes for reperfusion therapy - which restores blood flow to the heart - compared with 52 minutes for men.
It said only 35 per cent of women received reperfusion therapy, compared with 43 per cent of men.
The study's author, Dr Sharon O'Donnell of Trinity College, said: "Treatment delays experienced by women may limit their potential to achieve maximum benefit from reperfusion therapies, which have been clinically proven to work more effectively when administered early"
Dr O'Donnell said: "The image of the typical male heart attack victim must be corrected in the minds of triage nurses - who carry out initial assessments in casualty departments - and other healthcare staff."
