Women's health Week 2026

Thursday 10 September 2026

Heart Foundation welcomes new global definition of heart attack that will improve recognition of women’s heart attacks

New definition provides female specific guidance on heart attack diagnosis as former MasterChef contestant Mandy Hall urges women to act on symptoms

The Heart Foundation has welcomed a new global definition of heart attack, saying it will improve the diagnosis of women and help address longstanding gaps in recognition of women's heart disease.

Released by leading international cardiovascular organisations, the joint statement and updated global definition of ‘heart attack’ introduces female-specific troponin blood test thresholds. The new cut-offs help to address the underdiagnosis of heart attacks in women, a concerning issue which contributes to delays in treatment and worse cardiovascular outcomes.

The advice aligns with the Heart Foundation's Australian clinical guideline for diagnosing and managing acute coronary syndromes, published last year, which recommends sex-specific troponin thresholds to improve the diagnosis of heart attacks in women and support faster treatment in emergency departments.

Cardiovascular disease remains one of the leading causes of death for women in Australia. An estimated 125,200 women in Australia report having experienced a heart attack at some time in their lives (1), while 2,311 women in Australia died from a heart attack in 2024 (2).

Natalie Raffoul, Head of Clinical Strategy at the Heart Foundation, said healthcare professionals would be empowered to tailor heart attack diagnosis for women, as previously the generic cut off, largely underpinned by research in men, often led to misdiagnosis of heart attacks in women.

“A sex specific cut off means we are tailoring diagnosis thresholds for a heart attack to women rather than using the standard cut off derived from largely male study participants,” Ms Raffoul said.

“The new female specific blood test cut-offs is good news for women worldwide. It will mean that healthcare workers across the world can now better diagnose women who are experiencing a heart attack when they present to emergency departments.”

The update comes during Women's Health Week as new Heart Foundation data reveals many women in Australia still do not recognise the full range of heart attack symptoms.

Data obtained by the Heart Foundation’s State of the Heart survey 2025 of more than 5,000 respondents found many women surveyed did not know all symptoms of a heart attack and how symptoms can differ to those experienced by men.

The Heart Foundation report found while most respondents were able to identify chest pain as a heart attack symptom, half of respondents failed to identify excessive sweating or neck and jaw pain as a heart attack symptom, while other heart attack symptoms were also overlooked including nausea (60 per cent did not identify as a symptom), dizziness (31 per cent), arm, shoulder or back pain (25 per cent) and shortness of breath (21 per cent).

Natalie Raffoul said while chest pain or discomfort remains the most common heart attack warning sign in both women and men, women were more likely to experience additional symptoms that may be overlooked or mistaken for less serious conditions.

“For women these additional symptoms of a heart attack other than chest pain or discomfort include pain in the jaw, neck, back, shoulders or arms, shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness, indigestion, sweating and extreme fatigue,” Ms Raffoul said.

“Women’s symptoms may not fit the ‘Hollywood heart attack’ of a man clutching his chest.

“Because women’s symptoms are more likely to be misinterpreted, dismissed or attributed to other causes, it can often contribute to delays in seeking care and receiving treatment for heart attack which, for many women in Australia, can unfortunately result in poorer outcomes including death.”

Former MasterChef contestant’s deadly blockage dismissed as anxiety: a near-tragic female experience of heart disease

Former MasterChef contestant Mandy Hall knows what it is like to not have her symptoms of heart disease recognised.

Mandy, who has recently joined the Heart Foundation as an ambassador to share her story and encourage women to be aware of their heart health and act on symptoms, said she initially sought medical help after experiencing persistent symptoms but was told her condition was anxiety.

“Not that anxiety should be brushed away in its own right, but that affected everything for me because it made me feel like I couldn't listen to my body properly,” Mandy said.

“It made me feel like I should just go back to work and stop fussing about something that wasn't there. It wasn't until later that doctors found a 90 per cent blockage in a major artery to my heart.

“My message to women is simple: Know the signs, trust yourself and seek help if something doesn't feel right."

Ms Raffoul said stories like Mandy’s were important to share because it was common for women’s experiences of heart attack to be misunderstood or overlooked.

She emphasised that women’s heart health can change across their life course, with different experiences to men in terms of risk factors through to heart attackwarning signs.

“Women face unique risk factors for heart disease, including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (formerly PCOS) and menopause-related changes, which is why we encourage women to look after their heart and book a Medicare Heart Health Check with your GP if you’re 45 or older.“Your symptoms matter. Recognising the warning signs and calling Triple Zero (000) quickly could save your life.”

For more information about women’s heart health, visit: https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/heart-conditions-in-women or www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/risk-factors-for-women

For more information about booking a Medicare Heart Health Check visit: www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/heart-health-checks