Heart Attack Symptoms in Women

Most people think that heart attack symptoms are the same in men and women. But that's not the fact. Heart attack symptoms are significantly different in women and men. Heart is a muscular organ that plays an important role in circulation of blood throughout the body. When one of the coronary arteries that supply blood to heart is completely blocked, it causes death of heart tissues resulting in heart attack or myocardial infarction. In most cases, coronary heart disease, arteriosclerosis, causes the blockage of coronary artery. Besides, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, heredity, age, high fat diet, stress, lack of exercise and smoking are some common causes of heart attack.

Heart attack is one of the main causes of death in women after breast cancer. Over-weight women with high cholesterol levels are at a higher risk. After menopause, due to changes in hormonal levels (estrogen), women are more prone to heart attack. Obesity, stress, smoking, diabetes, high levels of LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, inactive lifestyle and family history of coronary disease are some of the risk factors for heart attack in women. Women taking birth control pills are also more vulnerable to this disease.

Symptoms of a Heart Attack in Women

The most common symptoms of heart attack, observed in both men and women, are chest pain, discomfort or pressure in the chest, upper body pain, shortness of breath, sweating, anxiety, nausea and vomiting. However, these symptoms are more severe in men than in women. Some major symptoms that a woman may experience prior to heart attack are unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances, anxiety, indigestion and shortness of breath.

Some of the common symptoms of a heart attack in women are as follows:

• Shortness of breath, not accompanied by chest pain
• Sweating
• Tightness in chest
• Sudden dizziness or loss of consciousness
• Feeling of heartburn or indigestion
• Stomach or abdominal pain
• Flu-like symptoms, cold sweats and nausea
• Unexplained weakness and fatigue
• Loss of appetite, general discomfort and a feeling of anxiety
• Pain in neck, lower jaw, shoulder and upper back
• Sense of impending doom

Weakness, shortness of breath and unusual fatigue ate the three most common symptoms that are seen mostly in women before heart attack. In addition, women more typically experience nausea, lightheadedness and cold sweats. On the other hand, men more often experience severe chest pain as the major symptom of heart attack.

Understanding the early symptoms of heart attack is helpful for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. It is difficult to diagnose it in women due to somewhat unrelated symptoms. That's why it is possible that women's heart attack remains neglected and left untreated. When women experience any of above-mentioned symptoms, they should immediately contact the doctor. As heart attack is a medical emergency, it is very important to get immediate medical treatment. Diagnosis is done on the basis of electrocardiogram (ECG) and some laboratory investigations such as serum troponin levels and determination of cardiac enzymes such as Creatine phosphokinase, Creatine phosphokinase-MB, etc.

The treatment of heart attack focuses on immediately opening the blocked artery and restoring the blood flow to heart muscles. There are various treatment options such as anti-platelet medications, anti-coagulant medications, clot dissolving medications, coronary angiography with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, medications to reduce the need for oxygen by the heart muscles, medications to prevent abnormal heart rhythms and supplemental oxygen.