By Victoria Allen Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail
Published: 00:01 BST, 15 April 2019 | Updated: 01:35 BST, 15 April 2019
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Women with Type 2 diabetes are less likely than men to be prescribed statins, a study shows.
People who have Type 2 diabetes are 40 per cent more likely than those without the condition to die from a major cardiac event.
But statins used to prevent a heart attack or stroke are more readily given to men, as are blood pressure pills that reduce heart disease risk.
Women with Type 2 diabetes have a similar risk of heart disease and stroke to men, but a new study shows they are 16 per cent less likely to be prescribed statins by their GP
A study of more than 450,000 people in England found women with Type 2 diabetes were 16 per cent less likely than men to receive statins. They were 26 per cent less likely to be prescribed ACE inhibitors to lower their blood pressure.
This may be because heart disease is often seen as a 'male illness' which threatens men more than women.
But the latest evidence shows women with diabetes have a similar additional risk of heart disease and stroke to men.
Dr Martin Rutter of Manchester University, the senior author of the study, said heart disease is often seen as a male problem because men more often turn up at their doctor with chest pains
Dr Martin Rutter of Manchester University, the senior author of the study,
