Heart Attack in Women: Two Life Saving Strategies
Signs of Heart Attack: Recognize and Act
Just about all of us are aware of one of the classic and most dramatic signs of a heart attack: crushing chest pain, “like an elephant standing on my chest” as many survivors have described it. Severe chest pain is just one of a number of possible symptoms of a heart attack in progress and in many cases, especially for women, the elephant has left the room.
Symptoms of a heart attack in women are often more subtle and, as a result, more likely to be dismissed, especially in the early stages when medical intervention can be most effective. A heart attack (myocardial infarction) occurs when the blood supply to the heart is compromised, usually because a clot in a coronary artery blocks blood flow to an area of the heart. The clot may form when a piece of plaque tears off or ruptures and, together with the blood clot, blocks the artery. The plaque is the result of a build up of cholesterol in the arteries, progressively narrowing the arteries and making them susceptible to blockages.
Interrupted blood flow deprives the heart of oxygen, and part of the heart muscle can be permanently damaged. Restoring blood flow as quickly as possible is essential to saving the patient’s life and preserving heart function.
The two life-saving strategies women need are, first, knowing how to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack, and second, being prepared to act on that knowledge.
The five primary symptoms of a heart attack are:
- chest pain or discomfort;
- pain in the jaw, neck, arm or back;
- pain or discomfort in the arm or shoulder;
- shortness of breath
- feeling lightheaded, dizzy or faint.
Less typical symptoms that are often reported by women are:
- mild or no chest pain with other symptoms;
- nausea or heartburn-like sensations;
- unusual fatigue or sleep disturbances.
In studies of heart attack survivors, half of women and up to one third of men reported no chest pain at all. When women did report chest pain, it was often mild. Dizziness, heartburn and nausea were also seen more often in women. Women were more likely to report overwhelming fatigue, breathlessness, and sleep disturbances, often for up to a month before the heart attack.
An MI Is an Emergency
In 2005, 920,000 Americans suffered a heart attack; for approximately one of every six persons, the attack was fatal. Doctors know that half of heart attack deaths occur in the first hour after symptoms begin, before the patient ever gets to a hospital. Getting to the ER promptly saves lives, so why the delay?
Most women can probably think of a few reasons to delay going to the hospital if they are experiencing vague but possible heart attack symptoms:
- I’d be so embarrassed if I was wrong.
- I wouldn’t want to bother anyone.
- Heart attacks happen more often to men.
If another family member had symptoms of a heart attack, would you be reluctant to act? Probably not. Would you be too embarrassed to go to the ER to x-ray your wrist if you fell and thought it might be broken? Probably not.
And the fact is that heart attacks are the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States; women tend to have heart attacks about 10 years later on average than men.
The reality that heart disease tends to occur later in life for women can lead to a false sense of security.
Women ignore the threat of heart disease at their own risk. The threat is real, but it can be lowered by making good lifestyle choices, managed with good medical care and lowered by being alert to the warning signs of a heart attack and ready to act quickly if symptoms appear.
You only come with one heart; you have to love it enough to protect it and yourself.
