Heart Attack Signs Doctors Often Miss
Heart Attack Signs Doctors Often Miss
Corbis
Conventional wisdom has it that heart attacks come out of the blue. We're also trained to expect a heart attack to happen a certain way; the victim clutches his chest, writhes in pain, and collapses. But for women, it often doesn't happen that way. Study after study shows heart attacks and heart disease are under-diagnosed in women, with the explanation being that they didn't have symptoms.
But research shows that's not the case. Women who've had heart attacks realize, looking back, that they experienced significant symptoms -- they just didn't recognize them as such.
In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, 95 percent of women (that's almost all!) who'd had heart attacks reported experiencing symptoms that were decidedly new or different from their previous experience a month or more before their attacks.
Even when a heart attack is occurring, women are often slow to realize what's happening and call a doctor. The reason? Women's heart attack symptoms are different than men's. This failure to recognize heart attack signs in women has led to a grim statistic: women are more likely to die from sudden cardiac death than men are, and two thirds of women who have a heart attack don't recover completely.
To prevent a heart attack from sneaking up on you, watch for these 7 little-known signs of heart attack:
1. Fatigue. More than 70 percent of women in the NIH study reported extreme fatigue in the month or months prior to their heart attacks. This was not just your run-of-the-mill tiredness -- the kind you can power through -- this was an overwhelming fatigue that sidelined them from their usual schedules for a few days at a time.
2. Sleeplessness or Insomnia. Despite their fatigue, women who've had heart attacks remember experiencing unexplained inability to fall asleep or stay asleep during the month before their heart attacks.
3. Anxiety and Stress. Stress has long been known to up the risk of heart attack. But what women report is the emotional experience; before their heart attacks they felt anxious, stressed, and keyed up, noticeably more than usual. Moments before or during a heart attack, many women report a feeling they describe as "impending doom;" they're aware that something's drastically wrong and they can't cope, but they're not sure what's going on.
4. Indigestion or Nausea. Stomach pain, intestinal cramps, nausea, and digestive disruptions are another sign reported by women heart attack patients. Become familiar with your own digestive habits, and pay attention when anything seems out of whack. Note especially if your system seems upset and you haven't eaten anything out of the ordinary.
5. Shortness of Breath. Of the women in the NIH study, more than 40 percent remembered experiencing this symptom. One of the comments the women made is that they noticed they couldn't catch their breath while walking up the stairs or doing other daily tasks.
6. Flu-Like Symptoms. Clammy, sweaty skin, along with feeling lightheaded and weak, can lead women to wonder if they have the flu when, in fact, they're having a heart attack.
7. Jaw, Ear, Neck, or Shoulder Pain. While pain and numbness in the chest, shoulder, and arm is a common sign of heart attack (at least, among men), women often don't experience the pain this way. Instead, many women say they felt pain and a sensation of tightness running along their jaw and down the neck, and sometimes up to the ear, as well. The pain may extend down to the shoulder and arm -- particularly on the left side -- or it may feel like a backache or pulled muscle in the neck and back.
In addition to the symptoms they do have, women differ from men in another significant way -- they may not experience many of the symptoms we traditionally associate with heart attacks. This, experts say, is a major reason why women's heart attacks go unrecognized and untreated. Almost half of all women in the NIH study felt no chest pain, even during the heart attack itself. Numbness is another symptom women may not experience, experts say.
How to protect yourself or the women you care about?
If your body is doing unusual things and you just don't feel "right," don't wait. Go see your doctor and ask for a thorough work-up. And if you have any risk factors for cardiac disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, or family history of heart disease, mention these to the doctor. Time is of the essence, so don't count on medical staff to know your background or read your chart -- tell them your risk factors right away, so your condition can be evaluated fully and completely.
Print this article.
More from Caring.com
Read and Post Comments |
More on AOL Health
Recent Comments
Valentino821988 10:42:19 PM Sep 04 2009
I'm 46 years old and I survived a major heart attack one year ago. I felt extreme fatigue for months leading up to it along with shoulder and neck pain that I attributed to stress due to being under a lot of stress at the time. I also could fall asleep but could not stay asleep. That morning, I had a lot of discomfort that I ignored but within 3 hours of the onset of pain I could not longer ignore it. The pain went across my chest, clear through to my back, up my neck and into my jaw, both sides. I couldn't lay down, couldn't get comfortable. My roommate and son talked me into going to the ER due to family history and my symptoms. Good thing, I might not be here. They could not stint the artery so I am on blood thinners and so forth. I'm blessed once again to be alive. Do not ignore the signs, it can cost you your life.
basscat1986 07:31:12 PM Sep 04 2009
This is so untrue!! I'm a guy and I get all but one of these symptoms. So why do they post just for women? Let me guess, a woman posted this that has a bad husband.
Whitingcares 07:29:54 PM Sep 04 2009
Women need to recognize their own bodies. I had a mild heart attack but knew exactly what was happening. I had absolutely no pain at all. My symptoms were a little shortness of breath, a bit lightheaded, and extremely cold. I took an aspirin and went to the emergency room. It is now almost 5 years later and I have no lasting symptons.Danison - My secretary is 82 years old and keeps on moving. She has a tremendous faith which sustains her.
NealLanham 07:28:03 PM Sep 04 2009
When i had may heart attack it all started when I came home from work. I was very very tried. When I walked up the steps to my bedroom i had this very weird pain in my chest. I could hardly breath but the pain went away after a couple of min. I was still very tired but could not lay down because the pain would come back again. I thought that I had pick up a heavy package at work and pulled a muscle. So I slept sitting up. the next morning when I tried to get out of bed all help broke loose. The pain was so bad the only thing i could say was help me Jesus. I made it to the emergency room by way of ambulance. The doctor told me that I they had to bring me back twice. I take my meds everyday and at three or four times in a 2 week period i relive that day. I don't ever want to go through something like that again.
Roseberry26 07:13:10 PM Sep 04 2009
I agree that doctor-male doctors especially take symptoms lightly-especially when one has an HMO and Medicaid. When one has Medicaid, like I do, and was truly suffering from heart symptoms; difficulty breathing, especially when walking but not always, heart pain.When I would wake up with chest pain and trouble breathing, I would go to the ER. I have seen people waiting ER's with chest pain and died waiting. One ploy when one does not have Medicare is, '"It's anxiety.." Certain insurances pay for hospital stays even when one is finally diagnosed with CHF and reccomended to go into a rehab. for a time, it'd denied because of an HMO and medicaid. Don't fool yourself. I don't care what doctors say, it's all money and greed, who lives and who dies. I was finally found with ''Syndrome X''. I discovered it. It's an insulin-resistant syndrome that will give one microvascular angina. It's still causes heart attacks. I started having symptoms at 45 and now 10 years later of slowly dying. It's a
Tikiefay7 07:04:47 PM Sep 04 2009
more signs of a heart attack- i lost 20 lbs over the year before. my dr. checked every thing . i felt like i had a rubber band around the top of my left arm, so real i looked to see an indent as if i had just taken one off. i had a cist on my tail bone. i would be walking through the house and with out warning throw up. along with the not sleeping. hope this helps just one woman.
Grrrrrrrr122000 06:41:29 PM Sep 04 2009
I am very happy that some of you survived and lived to tell about these symptoms however, WHO goes running to the dr for indigestion and fatigue ? Are you kidding?
B AngelD69 06:36:51 PM Sep 04 2009
As many people do experience many of the symptoms on a daily basses, its still something you should speak to your doctor about. In the case of no heath insurance like the case of my mother, try to find a clinic. She had the fatigue, Anxiety and Stress, Indigestion, shortness of breath even from just grocery shopping, shoulder pain, and trouble sleeping. She didn't think to much of it and did not see a Dr. until she had a massive heat attack that almost killed her. Pain went from her shoulder to pressure in her chest. I made her take Bayer aspirin and that slowed the attack until the EMS arrived. She had emergence heart surgery a quadruple bypass. The the surgeon said that she had smaller heart attacks before the major one probably 3 or 4 but did not realize. She is getting back to her better self now but maybe could have avoided the bypass if she had gone to the Dr. a year before when most of the symptoms slowly started showing up. Take care of your self and don't ignore or push t
ccccmaxinec 06:29:23 PM Sep 04 2009
You guys must be wondering why is my story choppy, it's long but it's like therapy and I am putting it out there for those who are interested enough to read it.Thanks
ccccmaxinec 06:28:00 PM Sep 04 2009
Continuation of my storylike I was walking on cloud in a very weird manor, the credit dept. was doing breakfast that morning went to the boardroom fixed some food for my self, one of the sweetest guy said to me you not looking to great are you o k sit with us, but i insisted to go back to my desk, at my desk did not even start eating I felt the weirdest sensation there is I tried drinking on the liquid could not pass my throat, I got up to go the lounge room and I was dizzy and slightly blacking out another coworker saw me and escorted me to the lounge room I sat in a chair felt very uncomfortable decided to lay on the lounger and that was the worst mistake, there was no breath and I am fighting then it came to me that my supervisor was at her desk how I picked up the phone I do not know but I bearably stated I can't breath I did not know anything after that, next I was in the hospital, luck;y my co-workers know of my Family Doctor and the hospital that is affiliated with so the EMS to
