\u2018I was even told at one point that it could be the menopause<\/a>, which was ridiculous, as I\u2019d had a hysterectomy at the age of 46, which I swiftly pointed out,\u2019 she recalls<\/a>. \u2018There was also a suggestion I had asthma.\u2019<\/p>\n In fact, Jacqueline had heart valve disease, where one or more of the heart\u2019s four valves don\u2019t open or close as they should, impairing blood flow. The serious condition affects around 1.5million people in the UK and is more common in women than men (56 per cent to 44 per cent).<\/p>\n Left untreated, it can ultimately lead to fatal heart failure because it affects the heart\u2019s ability to pump blood effectively.<\/p>\n Jacqueline Lewis, 62, had undiagnosed heart valve disease – only found after a stethoscope was used<\/p>\n Jacqueline believes her condition was missed because, as a woman, she didn\u2019t fit the stereotype of a \u2018classic\u2019 heart patient.<\/p>\n Certainly, the data supports her view. In one of the largest studies of its kind, presented at the British Cardiovascular Society conference in Manchester last month, researchers at the University of Leicester identified nearly 155,000 people diagnosed with aortic stenosis (the most common form of heart valve disease, affecting the valve which connects to the aorta, the largest artery in the body) between 2000 and 2022.<\/p>\n But women with the condition were 11 per cent less likely to be referred by their GP for specialist care than men.<\/p>\n Women were also less likely to receive treatment for aortic stenosis: although more than half of heart valve disease cases occur in women, fewer than half of procedures to replace or repair the damaged valve are carried out on them.<\/p>\n The five-year survival rate for severe aortic stenosis is almost ten times lower than that of breast cancer as women are often diagnosed later \u2013 and with more advanced disease.<\/p>\n So why are women slipping through the net? The reasons are both clinical and cultural, according to Dr Clare Appleby, a consultant cardiologist at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and honorary secretary of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society.<\/p>\n \u2018Some of it stems from gender bias in general practice, and the misconception that heart issues are inherently male,\u2019 she explains, adding that clinical trials often exclude women or include too few, which leads to gaps in knowledge.<\/p>\n \u2018Diagnostic criteria themselves can be flawed, as thresholds and measurements for diagnosing heart valve disease are based on male anatomy,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n Jacqueline says,\u00a0\u2018I\u2019ve got five grandchildren I love running around with, but suddenly I had to just sit and watch, helpless’<\/p>\n For instance, calcium build-up on the valve \u2013 a key marker for heart valve disease, usually identified from a scan \u2013 is typically lower in women even when they have the disease, and so their condition may be overlooked or misinterpreted.<\/p>\n \u2018By contrast men are seen, diagnosed and treated more quickly,\u2019 says Dr Appleby.<\/p>\n Wil Woan, chief executive of the charity Heart Valve Voice, adds: \u2018I\u2019ve spoken to many female patients \u2013 and relatives of women who sadly died before they could receive treatment \u2013 whose symptoms were missed,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n \u2018For many, it was put down to menopause, panic attacks, stress or just \u201cgetting older\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n The charity is calling for urgent action to tackle gender inequality in heart valve disease. It wants to raise awareness of the symptoms to look for, see the box below, alongside better training for healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n Warning signs for heart valve problems <\/p>\n Symptoms can include:<\/p>\n Shortness of breathFeeling tired or weakFeeling dizzyHeart palpitations, where you suddenly feel your heart beating irregularly or faster than usualSwollen ankles and feetChest pain or discomfort <!- – ad: https:\/\/mads.dailymail.co.uk\/v8\/us\/health\/none\/article\/other\/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 – -><\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n It also wants to see more women in cardiology, as research suggests female heart patients often have better outcomes when treated by women.<\/p>\n When Jacqueline first saw her GP, a simple stethoscope exam could have picked up the telltale sounds of valve disease \u2013 a characteristic \u2018murmur\u2019 or \u2018click-murmur\u2019.<\/p>\n Yet over repeat visits, no one listened to Jacqueline’s chest. Even when she was eventually referred to her local hospital and had a series of tests, including an angiogram \u2013 where a dye is injected into the bloodstream and picked up on a scan to show how blood flows through the heart, but doesn\u2019t pick up heart valve disease \u2013 this still wasn\u2019t done.<\/p>\n \u2018We have a real problem with auscultation \u2013 the use of a stethoscope,\u2019 says Dr Appleby.<\/p>\n \u2018Stethoscopes are cheap and widely available, yet they\u2019re often not used because they seem to have gone out of fashion. We need huge education efforts in both primary and secondary care.<\/p>\n \u2018Any woman presenting with fatigue or breathlessness should have their heart listened to. Other red flags include dizziness and blackouts. These should all prompt immediate investigation.\u2019<\/p>\n Timely diagnosis matters, she adds, because in the early stages the condition can sometimes be managed with medication and lifestyle changes.<\/p>\n However, \u2018when diagnosis is delayed, the window for effective intervention narrows \u2013 leading to riskier procedures [such as complex surgery] or missed chances for life-saving treatment altogether,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n Discharged by the hospital cardiologists, Jacqueline\u2019s symptoms worsened \u2013 with crushing fatigue and continued breathlessness. (Chest pain on exertion can also occur as heart valve disease progresses, as the heart has to work harder.)<\/p>\n \u2018I thought I was going crazy \u2013 all the joy was being sucked out of life,\u2019 she recalls.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve got five grandchildren I love running around with, but suddenly I had to just sit and watch, helpless.\u2019<\/p>\n By September 2023, Jacqueline felt so ill she took time off from her job. After five months, in March 2024, she decided to pay for a private consultation at a local clinic.<\/p>\n \u2018It was the best \u00a3200 I\u2019ve ever spent,\u2019 she says now.<\/p>\n Straight away, the doctor listened to her heart and suspected aortic stenosis. Further tests at another hospital confirmed the diagnosis and Jacqueline was told she would need open-heart surgery.<\/p>\n \u2018I couldn\u2019t believe it,\u2019 says Jacqueline, who lives with her partner Simon, 61, a builder.<\/p>\n Women with\u00a0aortic stenosis – the most common form of heart valve disease – were 11 per cent less likely to be referred by their GP for specialist care than men<\/p>\n Straight away, the doctor listened to Jacqueline’s heart and suspected aortic stenosis<\/p>\n \u2018It sounded incredibly serious and dramatic. But I was feeling so rotten and I just wanted to get better. I was also so relieved I was being taken seriously.\u2019<\/p>\n It emerged Jacqueline had been born with a bicuspid valve, where the valve has two leaflets, or flaps, instead of three.<\/p>\n This can in some cases cause heart valve disease in later life (though some people born with it may never know \u2013 or it may only become an issue with age).<\/p>\n Jacqueline underwent surgery to replace the damaged valve with an artificial one on the NHS in June 2024.<\/p>\n She woke the next day in pain, with a 7in scar from below her neckline to her breastbone, but was able to get out of bed. By the time she left hospital five days later, her breathlessness had gone.<\/p>\n Jacqueline recalls: \u2018When I got home, I walked slowly around the garden \u2013 looking at the flowers, the chickens I keep, just amazed at how wonderful it was not to feel breathless.\u2019<\/p>\n It took three months before she could walk at her usual pace, and she still can\u2019t do yoga because she aches around her breastbone due to the surgery.<\/p>\n But as she rebuilds her strength, Jacqueline is supporting Heart Valve Voice in its call for better treatment of women.<\/p>\n \u2018I was dismissed by the GP and then a hospital doctor because they looked at who I was, not what I might have,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u2018In their minds, I was just the classic menopausal woman. I was lucky in that I went to see someone privately who knew what to do. Not everyone may have that good fortune.<\/p>\n \u2018There needs to be a change in attitude amongst health professionals. But I also urge women to speak up so they don\u2019t suffer.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jacqueline Lewis used to power through the brisk ten-minute uphill walk that was part of her daily commute.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[97,59,102,1768,104,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-29184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-nhs","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Jacqueline](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/100697781-14947265-image-a-1_1753706265307.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Jacqueline](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/100697783-14947265-Jacqueline_says_I_ve_got_five_grandchildren_I_love_running_aroun-m-3_175370635418.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Women](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/100701999-14947265-image-a-12_1753717039469.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Straight](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/100699899-14947265-image-a-13_1753710998247.jpg\")
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