February is National Heart month and a good time to reflect on the strides that have been made in preventing and treating heart disease

However, heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of women and men. And since the 1980s, more women than men have died of heart disease in this country.

Women who have the most serious type of heart attack are less likely than men to receive proper hospital treatment and are less likely to survive.

The American Heart Association has established guidelines for hospitals that include specific protocols for diagnosis and treatment to save lives.

A study published last year in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association reviewed the data of 420 hospitals that enrolled in the guidelines program.

Hani Jneid, assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and lead author of the study, showed that hospitals don't seem to be following these guidelines closely enough, especially with women.

The researchers looked at gender differences of care practices and in-hospital deaths of 78,254 patients from 2001 to 2006. The study showed that if you are a woman having the most serious type of heart attack, you are less likely to receive treatments to restore blood flow - or lifesaving drugs.

It's disturbing that even with the American Heart Association guidelines in place, hospitals are not using enough evidence-based treatments to save women's lives. In some cases, it may be as simple as giving aspirin.

In addition, women may fail to recognize possible heart attack symptoms and delay getting to the hospital.

Over half of the women stricken by heart attacks have more diverse symptoms than men do. But many women and health-care professionals don't know this.

Some heart-attack warning signs that women should know, taken from the Web site of WomenHeart, the national coalition for women with heart disease:

- Discomfort, fullness, tightness, squeezing or pressure in the center of the chest that stays for more than a few minutes or that comes and goes.

- Pressure or pain that spreads to the upper back, shoulders, neck, jaws, arms or stomach.

- Dizziness or nausea.

- Clammy sweats, heart flutters or paleness.

- Unexplained feelings of anxiety, fatigue or weakness - especially with exertion.

- Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

What should you do if you think you are experiencing a heart attack?

- Call 911 for an ambulance. Do not drive yourself. Do not delay.

- Chew and swallow with water one regular full-strength (non-coated) aspirin as soon as possible to prevent blood clotting.

- Insist that hospital staff take your complaints seriously, do not make you wait and give you a thorough cardiac evaluation.

We must improve awareness and treatment of women's symptoms to effect change and save lives.