SYMPTOMS OF HEART ATTACK IN WOMEN

The diagram of a heart 

We have all watched this classic moving scene in movies, plays or soap operas, where the middle-aged or elderly male actor suddenly clutches his chest because he feels a crushing, unbearable pain and pressure there, and falls to the ground with his mouth usually open in shock.

In women, heart attack symptoms is not quite so dramatic but still as serious nevertheless. The warning signs of an impending heart attack in women present differently from men most of the time and may or may not be with the classic symptom of a sudden chest pain. 

A heart attack refers to a damage in the muscles of the heart due to an obstruction or blockage in blood supply to the heart. This could be due to plaque build-up in the coronary arteries, which can lead to the development of a blood clot or a spasm (sudden squeezing or tightening) of a coronary artery. Symptoms of heart attack defer in women and men. In women, these symptoms are more often vague, subtle and silent and can be overlooked or misdiagnosed.

In women, the warning signs such as intense and unusual fatigue and insomnia (not getting enough sleep) can show up weeks or months before it actually happens but because these symptoms are so vague and subtle, nothing serious is attributed to it.

Other symptoms include nausea, sweating, dizziness, shortness of breath even when you have not exerted yourself, extreme weakness, indigestion or stomach pain, arm, back, jaw or neck pain. Unlike men, women are less likely to experience chest pain.

Because these symptoms are not so clear-cut, they can be attributed to stress, heart burn, infection, fever or maybe stomach ulcer. The woman is less likely to see the need to go to a doctor. Doctors can also misdiagnose these symptoms and not interpret it as a warning sign for a cardiac arrest.

If you think you or someone else might be experiencing these symptoms, go to the nearest hospital before it becomes a full-blown heart attack and insist on getting a medical examination.