Heart disease in women is under-diagnosed, under-treated and under-researched, a senior doctor has warned.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in men and women around the world, killing more people than all the cancers combined.

In the UK, coronary heart disease causes 114,000 deaths a year - with one in six occurring in women. And across Europe cardiovascular disease kills a higher percentage of women than men - 55% compared to 43%.

Cardiologist Dr Ghada Mikhail said despite these statistics, heart disease was still considered "a disease of men".

Dr Mikhail, from North West London Hospitals and St Mary's Hospital NHS Trusts, said that many women were unaware that heart disease was their main killer, with their biggest fear being breast cancer.

"Even more worrying, however, is the apparent lack of awareness of cardiovascular disease in women among healthcare professionals," she said in the British Medical Journal.

Dr Mikhail said when women first turned up with heart disease they tended to be 10 years older than men, and 20 years older when they had their first heart attack.

"As coronary heart disease is a disease of the older woman, many women believe that they can postpone attempts to reduce their risk," she added.

Belinda Linden, head of medical information at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said: "Gender should not be a factor on which to base treatment or care. Our own research suggests that the vast majority of women (73%) have never talked to their GP or practice nurse about heart disease and that only one in 10 (11%) perceive women to be at most risk of heart disease.

"The growing concern about gender bias in clinical trials is also worrying because treatments which are effective for men may not be equally effective for women."

　　英国心脏病专家加达·米哈伊尔博士日前向人们发出警告说，人们对女性与心脏病间的关系缺乏应有的重视。另外，在诊断、治疗和研究等方面还需要人们做更多的工作。

　　据《每日邮报》9月2日报道，米哈伊尔博士来自伦敦西北地区医院及圣玛丽医院的英国国民健康服务体系（NHS）联合会。她认为，很多女性并未意识到心脏病是威胁她们身体健康的主要疾病。米哈伊尔博士表示，女性第1次被诊断出患有心脏病时，其年龄往往要比男性大10岁左右，而在她们首次经历心脏病发作时，这一年龄差距则扩大到了20岁。她说：“由于患冠状动脉类心脏病的多为老年妇女，因此很多女性便认为她们可以晚些时候再接受治疗。”

　　报道说，在世界范围内，无论男女，心血管疾病都是造成人们死亡的头号杀手，其致死人数超过各种癌症的总和。在英国，每年有11.4万人死于与冠状动脉有关的各种心脏病，其中有六分之一是女性。

　　在整个欧洲，死于心血管疾病的女性比例还要高于男性。