From ADHD to heart disease - Why women get sick differently than men | DW Documentary

Heart disease, ADHD, mental health: When it comes to medicine, men and women often need different treatments. Yet general medicine is based on the male body.

The risk of dying after a heart attack is twice as high for women as for men. ADHD often goes undiagnosed in girls. For men, mental health issues are still often considered a taboo subject: The suicide rate among men is nearly three times higher than it is among women.
Yet in medical education, drug research, and everyday clinical practice, the standard patient is still imagined as male. In Frankfurt am Main, doctors want to change that.

Germany’s first university-affiliated Women’s Heart Center was established there. Research and teaching on cardiovascular diseases are focused on women, and personalized therapies and preventive screenings are offered specifically for them.

ADHD, on the other hand, often goes undetected in girls—and thus untreated. Author and influencer Angelina Boerger experienced this firsthand. She wasn’t diagnosed until she was 29. More than 150,000 people now follow her accounts of her daily life on her Instagram channel. Through her social media presence, a book, and a live stage show, she is bringing the topic of ADHD in girls and women into the public eye.

Although medical care is more geared toward men, they often stand in their own way when it comes to taking care of their own health. Compared to women, men are less likely to take advantage of preventive health screenings. Even when they already have symptoms, they are less likely to see a doctor. Mental health issues, in particular, are often still considered a taboo subject among men. This is precisely where two programs in Ireland come in: The suicide prevention program "CAIRDE” organizes preventive mental health workshops for construction workers. "On Fair Ground 2” trains people to help farmers take their health seriously and seek medical care. In 2008, Ireland became the first country in the world to launch a national strategy for men’s health.

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