Heart Disease is proportionally killing more woman in Scotland than in England, a charity has said.
Heart Research UK is increasing efforts to raise awareness of how women are affected and killed from heart disease in Scotland, as they announced the news.
The charity's Heart of Scotland appeal is launching a new version of their campaign to alert woman of the dangers of heart disease, and families impacted are joining the cause.
More than 2,500 women die from coronary heart disease in Scotland annually; twice the number of deaths from breast cancer.
The husband and son of an Ayrshire woman who died after suffering a heart attack have backed the campaign, saying the experience of her dying turned the family’s life upside down.
Theresa Potter died suddenly after suffering a heart attack at home in July 2020. Her husband Dougie recalls how quick the moment passed, despite Theresa being fit and healthy.
He said: “I heard this wail. I ran upstairs, and she was dead. Lying in bed dead. I was on the phone to the ambulance and the operator is telling us to try and resuscitate her. I was trying my hardest and trying my hardest.
“Then the doorbell rang, and I thought how’s this, I can’t answer the door and it was an ambulance. It was that quick.”
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Coronary heart disease (CHD), often described as a ‘man’s disease’ the charity says, is one of the single biggest killers of women in Scotland.
Left untreated, heart disease can lead to a heart attack or stroke which are life-threatening.
To move the dial, raise more awareness and help stop women dying of heart disease, the new advertising campaign which will be shared across social media, featuring ‘Theresa’s story’.
Heart Research UK have famous voices backing their campaign in Kaye Adams and Mark Bonnar, and are pushing the message to encourage women to get their cholesterol checked.
The advert to go alongside the campaign directs the viewer’s gaze towards an overweight middle-aged man in a café who’s showing signs of discomfort and indigestion, the usual signs of a heart attack. However, the person suffering from a heart attack is the female waitress.
Data gathered by the charity shows that 37 per cent of women have never had their cholesterol checked, 73 per cent don’t realise that coronary heart disease claims more lives than breast cancer each year and a further three in five of women don’t realise that the risk of CHD increases after menopause.
Lynn Stewart, Community Fundraiser for the Heart of Scotland Appeal, said: “It is vital that we raise awareness of heart disease in women across Scotland and tackle these alarming statistics head-on. Heart disease is not just a man’s disease, and we are on a mission to change this narrative.
“We want to empower more women of all ages to understand the risks and recognise the symptoms of a heart attack. It’s through our Heart of Scotland Appeal that we can fund more research and we can continue to combat heart disease.”
For more information about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack in women visit Heart Research UK’s website here.
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