Researchers found women took longer to seek hospital treatment

However the study of 890 heart attack patients in six major teaching hospitals in the Irish capital Dublin found 60% of men went by ambulance.

The research in the Journal of Advanced Nursing also suggested it took women longer than men to go to casualty after their symptoms first started.

But only 1% of women patients got behind the wheel, the study suggested.

Women need to be much more aware of the risks they face from heart attacks and the importance of seeking prompt treatment Dr Sharon O'Donnell

Lead researcher Dr Sharon O' Donnell from Dublin's Trinity College said driving during a heart attack was extremely dangerous.

People who drove themselves to the hospital said they did it because it was the quickest way or thought ambulances should be reserved for more serious cases

"However," Dr O'Donnell added, "many also reported that they felt they were going to collapse when they arrived in the casualty department."

The research funded by the Irish Health Research Board compared the length of time it took men and women to obtain hospital care from the onset of symptoms.

It suggested women took on average 14 hours to get to hospital compared with 2.8 hours for men.

Even when women's symptoms became severe, they still took 3.1 hours to reach hospital compared to 1.8 hours for men, the study said.

Heart attack symptoms Crushing central chest pain or discomfort The discomfort may spread to or just affect the arms Feeling weak or faint as well as breathlessness, sickness and vomiting, sweating, pallor The pain does not go away with rest

Women were slower in reacting to symptoms partly because they did not see themselves as heart attack victims, Dr O'Donnell said.

She also said that women's symptoms could be different from the typical sudden pain in the central chest and left arm.

"Women can get that also but they're more likely to have a slowly evolving event and they can get mixed up as to what is going on."

Until the 1990s women have been excluded from research into heart attacks, as it was assumed the findings for men could be generalised for women.

'Call 999'

This has resulted in a lack of information about the course and progression of heart disease in women, the researchers said, calling for more research to correct the imbalance.

Dr O' Donnell said: "Women need to be much more aware of the risks they face from heart attacks and the importance of seeking prompt treatment."

Alison Shaw, medical spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation, said every two minutes in the UK someone has a heart attack.

"We urge people not to delay dialing 999 if you think you or someone else may be having a heart attack - early treatment with a clot busting drug can make all the difference.

"Never wait longer than 15 minutes if the chest pain persists, even if you are unsure of the nature of the pain."