Heart Beat

A woman’s chances of surviving a heart attack are about a third of those faced by a man, according to a major new study. Experts said the problem was that many people regarded heart disease as largely a male problem. The latest findings were reported to the first conference of the Acute Cardiovascular Care Association [...]

November 17 – Many women feel “degraded and embarrassed” by cervical smear testing, researchers warned today. Public campaigns in the UK have encouraged women to undergo testing – especially after the death of TV celebrity Jade Goody. But researchers from Leicester University, UK, say general public support does not take away the risk women will [...]

September 7 – A regular, moderate alcohol intake has been linked to a lower chance of having major chronic illness, a new study has found. Previous studies have suggested that a low alcohol consumption may extend the lifespan, so Dr Qi Sun of Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA, and colleagues looked at the [...]

August 11 – Women may be a great deal more susceptible to the risks of smoking than men, researchers warned today. Female smokers face a 25 per cent greater risk of developing heart disease than men, according to a major analysis reported in The Lancet. The finding comes at a time when the number of [...]

August 8 – A community nurse has gained a part victory in a critical test case on equal pay. Gloria Emmanuel is now set to be awarded extra back pay after a tribunal ruled that the weekend payments system in Hackney, where she worked, discriminated against women. The results of the case have led to [...]

July 28  – Nurse-led relaxation training and better birth preparation may help reduce the rising rate of Caesarean section births, according to an analysis published today. A new Cochrane review has looked at the evidence for different methods of reducing unnecessary caesareans. Caesareans can be lifesaving for both mother and baby, but they are not [...]

May 21 – All women should visit their GP when they are 50 to arrange a personal health plan, campaigners say. According to the British Menopause Society, a health and lifestyle consultation would help women improve their health as they go through the menopause. Publishing a statement in Menopause International, the BMS Council said most [...]

May 20 – A dietary supplement may protect pregnant women facing a life-threatening complication, researchers revealed today. Pregnant women at high risk of developing pre-eclampsia could benefit from the supplement, which contains an amino acid and antioxidant vitamins, according to the new findings. Researchers found the supplement seemed to halve the risk of women developing [...]

April 27 – The first clinical guideline on how to detect, diagnose and treat ovarian cancer is launched today by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The five-year survival rate from ovarian cancer is 35 per cent, with early diagnosis improving the chance of survival. Dr Fergus Macbeth of NICE says the symptoms [...]

Pregnancy often makes women feel “free” from the stigma of being overweight, researchers say today. While some women felt more accepting of their weight, others felt that pregnancy was the ideal time to make changes. Others highlighted examples of poor health care provision. Obesity during pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of gestational diabetes, [...]