Just like men, women also typically experience chest pressure or tightness during a heart attack. However, women experience other lesser-known symptoms and it is for this reason that they are at greater risk of dying, due to misdiagnosis or late treatment. It is for this reason that it is therefore important to know what to look out for if you are a woman; if you are concerned about having a heart attack, call 911 immediately.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Recognizing the Symptoms
Step 1. Consider any chest or back discomfort
One of the main symptoms of heart attack is a feeling of heaviness, constriction, pressure, or stiffness in the upper chest or back. This pain may not even be sudden or intense; it may only last a few minutes and then disappear.
Some people confuse heart attack pain with heartburn or indigestion. If the discomfort doesn't start immediately after a meal, if you don't typically suffer from acidity, or if the pain is accompanied by nausea (feeling like you need to vomit), you should go to the emergency room immediately
Step 2. Recognize any discomfort in the upper body
Women with heart attacks may complain of excruciating pain in the jaw, neck, shoulders, or back that resembles toothache or ear pain. This phenomenon is due to the fact that the nerves that radiate these areas are the same ones that carry electrical signals to the heart. The suffering may be intermittent for a while, before increasing in intensity; it might even be strong enough to wake you up in the middle of the night.
- You may feel pain only once in each place on your body or only in some of the areas listed above.
- Women often do not experience arm or shoulder pain, as do men who have a heart attack.
Step 3. Pay attention to vertigo and dizziness
If you suddenly feel faint, your heart may not be getting enough blood. If dizziness (feeling that the room is spinning around you) and lightheadedness (feeling faint) are accompanied by shortness of breath or cold sweats, you may be suffering from a heart attack.
Step 4. Check for shortness of breath
If you suddenly feel out of breath, it could be a sign of a heart attack. Basically, you are unable to inhale; in this case, try to suck the air through your puckered lips (as if you want to whistle). This technique allows you to use less energy, makes you feel more relaxed and less "short of breath".
When you have a heart attack, the blood pressure in the lungs and heart increases as the heart's ability to pump decreases
Step 5. Monitor gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, dyspepsia and vomiting
These signs are more common in women than men who are prone to heart attacks. Typically, they are overlooked or attributed to stress or the flu, but are actually the result of poor circulation and a lack of oxygen in the blood. The feeling of nausea and indigestion can last for some time.
Step 6. Assess if you have had difficulty breathing immediately after waking up
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when soft tissues in the mouth, such as the tongue and mucous membranes in the throat, block the upper airways.
- When this disorder is diagnosed, it means that the patient stops breathing repeatedly for at least 10 seconds while sleeping. This interruption reduces the blood supply from the heart.
- Research conducted by Yale University suggests that sleep apnea increases the risk of death or heart attack by 30% (over a five-year period). If you can't breathe in when you wake up, you may be suffering from a heart attack.
Step 7. Assess if you are feeling anxious
Often a panic attack or anxiety triggers symptoms such as sweating, shortness of breath, and rapid heartbeat (rapid heart rate). These signs are also common with heart attack. If you suddenly feel anxious, it could be the nervous reaction to excessive strain on the heart. In some women, anxiety also causes insomnia.
Step 8. Watch for the feeling of weakness and exhaustion
Although they are symptoms of many medical conditions or a very busy week at work, fatigue and weakness can also be caused by a reduced blood supply to the brain. If you have difficulty completing your daily tasks because you have to stop to rest (more than usual), your blood may not circulate properly throughout your body at a normal rate and could indicate that you are at risk for a heart attack. Some women complain of a feeling of heaviness in their legs in the weeks or months before the heart attack.
Part 2 of 2: Understanding the Importance of Identifying Symptoms
Step 1. Know that women are at greater risk of dying from a heart attack
The reason for this phenomenon lies in the fact that the disease is often misdiagnosed or the treatment is not timely. If you are concerned about having a heart attack, mention this possibility when calling the ambulance. By doing so, you are certain that the doctor will also consider this hypothesis, although your symptoms may not be typical of a heart attack.
Do not postpone treatment if you think it is a heart attack or other heart problem
Step 2. Recognize the difference between a panic attack and a heart attack
The first occurs due to a stressful situation. The exact reasons that lead an individual to suffer from a panic attack are still unknown; however, it is a disorder that tends to recur among various members of the same family. Women, along with their twenties and thirties in general, run a greater risk of panic attacks. Symptoms that accompany this phenomenon, but which are not common during a heart attack are:
- Intense terror;
- Sweaty palms;
- Red face
- Chills;
- Collation;
- Feeling of needing to escape
- Fear of going crazy
- Hot flashes
- Difficulty swallowing or a tightness in the throat
- Headache.
- These symptoms can resolve in five minutes or flare up after 20 minutes.
Step 3. Seek medical help if you have signs of a panic attack but have suffered from a heart attack in the past
All people who have had a heart attack and complain of the symptoms described above should go to the emergency room. An individual who has been diagnosed with anxiety disorder and is concerned about having a heart attack should undergo a cardiological evaluation.
