For generations, the heart attack has been imagined in a particular way — a middle-aged man clutching his chest — and that image has quietly shaped who gets diagnosed, who gets treated, and who survives. A new global definition published in the European Heart Journal now challenges that assumption directly, introducing sex-specific diagnostic thresholds and formally recognizing conditions like SCAD that strike predominantly women with no conventional risk factors. The revision is a reminder that medical knowledge is not static, and that the cost of its blind spots is measured in human lives. W
New global heart attack definition aims to close diagnostic gap for women
Women experiencing heart attacks, particularly those with SCAD, face delayed diagnosis and treatment compared to men, affecting survival and recovery outcomes.