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How can I avoid neglecting the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack?
stethoscope on red heart sing object on red background
Many people have seen scenes in movies and dramas where a male character suddenly stops moving while having sex, yelling at someone, or playing sports. I wonder. Then they turn pale, stagger, and fall dramatically to the floor, clutching their chests.
However, in popular culture, we rarely see women suffering heart attacks like this. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many women die from some form of heart disease in the United States as men.
In 2017, one in five American women died from heart disease. And it’s not just limited to older women. Research shows that the proportion of young women being hospitalized for heart attacks is increasing .
This is probably the situation in which a woman actually suffers a heart attack. As two of her friends are walking, one of them says, “Something doesn’t feel right,” and suggests they sit down for a while.
According to Dr. Judith Lichtman, chair of the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, if a woman feels unusually tired and can’t walk at a normal pace, she may be experiencing symptoms common to a heart attack, including: It is said that there is a possibility.
Chest pressure, tightness, palpitations, sharp pain
Nausea, indigestion, stomach pain, acid reflux
Discomfort in the arms, neck, jaw, or back
Malaise
shortness of breath
dizziness, fainting
cold sweat, pale face
If you’re experiencing chest pain or discomfort but don’t have any other symptoms, you’ll likely treat these symptoms as just tiredness or a cold, and go home and lie down.
The woman herself isn’t the only one who doesn’t realize she’s having a heart attack. Lichtman’s research has shown that even if young women experience chest pain, they and their doctors often don’t think it’s a heart attack in the first place, perhaps because young women experience more symptoms than men their age. .
What is a heart attack?
A heart attack occurs any time the heart doesn’t receive enough blood,” says Dr. Carol Watson, professor of medicine and cardiology at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine .
The heart is a muscle, and like any other muscle, it needs a constant supply of blood to stay healthy. If any part of the heart is deprived of blood, even for a short period of time, it can weaken. That’s a heart attack.”
When plaque (a mixture of cholesterol, fat, and other substances) clogs arteries, the blood supply to the heart slows or stops. There may also be blood clots around the plaque, making it harder for blood to reach the heart. Once a part of the heart stops working, Dr. Watson says, it doesn’t recover (although the rest of the heart may strengthen to compensate for the damage).
The first signs of a heart attack that women should look out for
One of the first signs a woman notices when she’s having a heart attack is feeling extremely tired. In other words, the fatigue is more than the normal feeling of fatigue that comes from having to work, raise children, and be responsible for everything.
This is very helpful information as a precursor to the diagnosis of a heart attack in women, with severe fatigue being the most common symptom,” Dr. Watson said.
Even if you feel this tired, you may not realize that you are having a heart attack. Because there is another possibility. And to be honest, there’s no one who isn’t tired.
But that’s the problem. “Fatigue is almost always accompanied by other symptoms, such as chest pain, tightness, difficulty breathing, and indigestion,” says Dr. Watson. Fatigue may not be the most obvious symptom, so it’s important to look at the overall situation, she says. “Feeling overwhelmed by fatigue and other symptoms mentioned above are signs that something is wrong.”
4 hidden symptoms of a heart attack
According to the American Heart Association, in addition to feeling extremely tired, the most common symptoms of a heart attack in women are: Note that not all symptoms are present.
Uncomfortable pressure, tightness, bloating, or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts for more than 2 to 3 minutes, or the symptoms go away and then repeat.
Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach
Difficulty breathing (with or without chest discomfort)
Sudden onset of cold sweats, nausea, vomiting, and lightheadedness
It’s easy to ignore all of these symptoms. Especially if you don’t want to think you’re having a heart attack.
What’s more, these are considered hidden signs of a heart attack because each individual symptom can be attributed to other illnesses. Chest pain in particular may be different from the stereotypical male heart attack, which is described as feeling like an “elephant is sitting on your chest,” Dr. Lichtman said.
Dr. Lichtman’s research shows that the sheer number of these vague symptoms is one reason many women don’t realize they’re having a heart attack. It’s easy to ignore symptoms of chest pain or tightness because you have other things to worry about, Dr. Lichtman says.
However, when a woman has a heart attack, several of these symptoms occur together. With this in mind, any chest pain or discomfort should be treated as a distinct symptom. And whether it’s a tightening pain, a feeling of pressure, or a sharp pain, it’s all chest pain. “Chest pain is the number one symptom of a heart attack in both men and women, in 80 to 90 percent of cases, depending on where you get the information,” Dr. Lichtman says.
How long does a woman have symptoms and signs of blockage before a heart attack?
Is it possible to walk around with heart attack symptoms for a period of time? The answer is yes. But for how long “it’s impossible to say”, Dr. Watson said. “It depends on the person.”
That’s why it’s best to get tested as soon as possible if you have any worrying symptoms. “If you experience symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath, or fainting, you should get tested right away.”
Unfortunately, Dr. Watson says it is not known whether the blood vessels leading to the heart are becoming clogged. “Pre-symptoms are difficult to know, but if you know your family’s medical history and can check your cholesterol, blood pressure, and other risk factors for heart disease, you can be alert,” she says.
You often only notice when you feel symptoms. I wish there were early signs, but they aren’t.”
Differences between symptoms and men’s symptoms that women should know
Traditionally, there was a misconception that women didn’t experience chest pain in the same way as men, but that’s not true,” Dr. Lichtman says. The first thing women need to know is that chest pain and tightness is actually a symptom, even if it’s not the stereotypical feeling of crushing, heavy breast pain.
My rule is that if you have symptoms between your belly button and nose that come on when you move and go away when you rest, you should suspect the heart,” Dr. Watson says.
Another thing that women need to know that differs from men is that women have multiple symptoms and don’t ignore chest pain as one of them. “It’s a combination of different factors,” says Dr. Lichtman.
Especially young women, they tend to think it’s not a heart attack but something else.” For example, people often think that it is indigestion rather than a heart attack, and do not give it much thought.
When doctors hear that chest pain is one of the many symptoms, they may not think it’s a heart attack. “It varies from doctor to doctor, but some people assume that the order of symptoms they hear from a patient is in order of severity,” she says. So if a woman reports tightness in her chest by the third or fourth time, it may take a while for doctors to suspect she’s having a heart attack.
Third, women should understand that research shows that women are more likely to die from a heart attack than men for a variety of reasons . If you experience symptoms of a heart attack, call an ambulance immediately.
What should you do if you experience heart attack symptoms?
call an ambulance
A Swiss study found that women were about 40 minutes slower than men to call for help. Probably because she doesn’t notice the symptoms. Previous research has shown that calling an ambulance is faster than having someone drive you there. If hospitals know that patients are coming, they can prepare and patients can receive first aid along the way.
Tell your doctor about chest pain or tightness first.
Even if you have other symptoms, Don’t hide your chest pain; bring it up first,” Dr. Lichtman says.
Talk about how you feel without downplaying it
“Let’s make some noise,” said Dr. Watson. Dr. Lichtman’s research has shown that young women often feel like they need treatment for a heart attack but don’t want to be seen as an alarmist.
“Don’t be apologetic or feel like you don’t want to bother anyone, because it’s our job to save patients’ lives,” Dr. Watson said.
*This article is a translated version of one posted on an overseas site. All data and research results are from the original article.
Translation: Mitsuko Kanno From Good Housekeeping US
