Woman's Hour - 31/07/2009

With Jenni Murray. Amidst all the publicity about the improvements in survival rates after heart surgery this week, a little reported fact is that women's survival rates have not improved as significantly as men's, and heart disease amongst women has generally been under-reported. Jenni talks to Ben Bridgewater, author of the report from the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery and a consultant cardiac surgeon in Manchester. NHS District Profiles released at the beginning of July show that Hartlepool has the lowest life expectancy for women in the UK - almost 10 years shorter than women in the affluent London borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Caz Graham reports from Hartlepool and Jenni is joined to discuss health improvement for women in Hartlepool by Carole Johnson, Head of Health Improvement for Hartlepool PCT and Janet Shucksmith, Professor in Public Health at Teeside University. How do families manage when there's a gender imbalance in the family? Jenni is joined by Al Molineaux, who has a wife and four daughters, and Janey Louise Jones, a writer with one husband and three sons. After a long period of shiny chrome and black leather, shabby chic is back in fashion. Designer Ros Byam Shaw and auctioneer Adam Partridge tell Jenni how to create the look in these cash strapped times.