What Dr Bailey Got Right About Women’s Heart Health
- Alice Tooley
- Jul 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 14
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to imply that women do not experience the more well-known heart attack symptoms, or that men cannot experience the lesser-known ones. Rather, it aims to highlight that women may be more likely to present with less recognised symptoms.
Imagine experiencing a heart attack, but no one believes you. The ordeal of Dr Miranda Bailey, a top General Surgeon on Grey’s Anatomy, reveals why we should talk more about the treatment of women’s cardiovascular health.
A Heart Attack No One Believes
“Women’s heart attacks don’t manifest the way they do in men! They’re not all chest-clutching, vomiting, “Help my arm is numb”, boom, floor drop”
In Season 14, Episode 11 of Grey’s Anatomy, Dr Miranda Bailey becomes the patient. She seeks medical help whilst experiencing “nausea” and “heartburn”, only to find herself patronized and belittled. Medical professionals attribute her symptoms to “basic indigestion or reflux”, assuring her that she is “all good” and failing to take her concerns seriously.
It is only when her situation worsens, and she collapses that the doctors recognise the gravity of her situation. Upon further investigation, it is revealed that she was suffering from a heart attack and did in fact need life-saving surgery.
This moment is striking for its irony: how could someone with significant medical experience not be taken seriously? And what does this mean for the rest of us?
The Real-Life Relevance: Gender Bias in Heart Health
In the real world, women often encounter barriers to receiving accurate diagnosis and treatment. In relation to heart conditions, part of the problem is that few realise that women are more likely to suffer from less obvious symptoms. According to research this includes:
Dizziness
Vomiting or nausea
Pain in the jaw, arms, neck, or between the shoulder blades
Fatigue
(Lee, 2024)
As shown in Grey’s Anatomy, these symptoms can easily be mistaken for less serious issues, leading to the frequent dismissal of women’s heart concerns.
This is particularly alarming as research shows that heart disease is the “worldwide leading cause of death in women” (Alexander et. al., 2021).
For this reason, recognising how heart attacks present in women is critical to saving lives.
What Dr Bailey Got Right
Trusting Your Own Body
Dr Bailey’s insistence on further testing after revealing her symptoms is a powerful reminder of the importance of self-advocacy. Women are too often met with a need to downplay their symptoms at the fear of being “too emotional”. Dr Bailey’s storyline reveals how important it is to listen to your intuition and advocate for yourself.
This is critical advice in the real world. Women who are experiencing chest pain, fatigue, back pain, or any of the symptoms mentioned earlier should not hesitate to demand further testing.
Always remember…healthcare is your fundamental human right!
Raising Awareness about Women’s Heart Health
Dr Bailey’s experience underscores a wider social issue: the underrepresentation of women’s health in medical research.
Heart disease is one of the most well-known conditions in healthcare, yet most of its research “over-represent[s]” men. This means that medical professionals are forced to “recommend the same diagnostic and management strategies [to] both sexes” which could be dangerous. (Alexander et. al., 2021)
Dr Bailey’s storyline highlights the urgent need for more gender-inclusive research and improved medical training to ensure that women’s heart issues are accurately identified and treated.
What You Can Do: Advocating for Yourself
If you are a woman who suspects you might have heart issues, here is what you can do:
Know the Symptoms: On top of what has been mentioned in this article, you can do more research into how heart attacks present in women so that you are informed. You can click on the hyperlink below to learn more:
Know Your Risk Factors: Diabetes, obesity, smoking, alcohol, and family history are just some of the risk factors for heart disease. You can click on the hyperlink below to learn more:
Do Not Hesitate to Ask for Tests: If you feel that something is wrong, you have a right to ask for further testing. Be persistent, especially if you have a heightened risk of heart disease.
Seek a Second Opinion: If you are not being taken seriously, ask someone else. Your health and well-being should always come first.
Whilst Dr Miranda Bailey’s heart attack may be a fictional event, the issues it raises about women’s heart health are grounded in reality.
Through her story, Grey’s Anatomy highlights the urgent need for gender-specific research and improved treatment of women in healthcare. It acts as a reminder that gender bias is a very real issue in health services and must be addressed.
What To Do If You Suspect a Heart Attack
If you think you or someone around you is having a heart attack you should:
Call 999 and ask for an ambulance
(ask them to) sit down and try to stay calm
(ask them to) chew 300mg aspirin if you/they can and if you/they are not allergic
Wait for the ambulance
(Women and Heart…, 2023)
References
Alexander, D., Bucciarelli‐Ducci, C., Marvao, A., & Price, S. (2021). Heart disease in women: a narrative review. Anaesthesia, 76(S4), pp. 118–130. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.15376
Lee, A, R. (2024). What Women Need to Know About Heart Attack Symptoms. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/heart-attack-in-women-8414767
Unknown Author. (2019). Risk factors. British Heart Foundation. https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/risk-factors
Unknown Author. (2023, October). Women and Heart Attacks. British Heart Foundation. https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditions/heart-attack/signs-and-symptoms-of-heart-attacks-in-women
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