Am I having a heart attack?
Coronary heart disease (the main cause of heart attacks) is the single biggest killer of women worldwide. In the UK alone coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many as breast cancer, but despite this, heart disease and heart attacks are always thought of to be a man's disease. We all know the scene from TV and film of a middle aged man clutching his chest in pain and slumping to the floor, but why is it never a woman?
Heart attack symptoms in women
While the main symptom of heart attacks is the same in both genders (chest pain/discomfort) women are much more likely to experience the lesser known or lesser common symptoms of heart attack. This means that the women themselves or medical professionals disregard or misdiagnosed the symptoms, let's look at some of these symptoms below;
The misdiagnosing of these symptoms is extremely harmful to women's health as delays in appropriate care can lead to irreversible and lasting heart damage.
One US woman called 911 because she thought she was having a heart attack, she was told she was probably just having a bout of anxiety. She told the US news programme Today that “they made me walk outside, down my driveway to the ambulance. They never turned on the sirens or lights and stopped at every light on the way back to the hospital”. She was not having an anxiety attack, she was having a major cardiac episode caused by a rare condition. The delay in her care has left her with severe heart damage and heart failure that she still lives with today.
What are early signs of a heart attack?
Many women who have had heart attacks mention that some symptoms often start weeks before hand, but they didn't think they were anything serious or something to be worried about. Most early symptoms are overlooked or passed off as something else as they don't directly correlate to the chest or heart. Let's take a look at some of the early signs in women;
- Unusual fatigue - Are you feeling wiped out after making the bed or hanging out some laundry? Does your chest feel heavy and tired like after a long workout yet all you've done is potter about the house?
- Sweating and shortness of breath - Do you have sudden bouts of breathlessness without doing anything? Are you cold and clammy for no reason?
- Neck , jaw and back pain - Do you have pain or discomfort in the face or jaw? Is your back and neck painful, especially between the shoulder blades?
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Sleep disturbances - Are struggling to get to sleep or stay asleep for very long? Do you wake up fatigued?
What causes a heart attack?
As women age their hormonal protection from heart attacks gets lower and lower. As women finish the menopause their risk increases and keeps rising as she ages. There are many other lifestyle related causes that also add to your risk of heart attacks such as…
Being aware of these risk factors is important, especially as you age. The more of these risk factors apply to you, the more at risk you are, so making healthy choices is vital for lowering your risk of heart attack.
What should I do if I notice symptoms of a heart attack?
Book a doctors appointment, the sooner you stress your concerns, the better. If a problem is spotted early enough, you might save yourself from a full cardiac event. Make a list of your symptoms or keep a diary in the run up to your doctor appointment as well as any family history of heart problems or heart attack. Bring this with you to your appointment, it will help you keep organised and to give the most accurate account of your symptoms to the doctor.
The doctor may order some blood tests or a ECG scan and ask questions about your lifestyle and family history. If you are not being listened to or taken seriously by the doctor, be firm or ask to speak to another member of medical staff. You should also get them to note on your files that they have refused to order tests or investigate further for these symptoms to keep them accountable. This can sometimes be enough to encourage them to order the tests or do further investigation for you. Keep pushing for help and if you're not getting it from them, then find someone who will help you.
Heart problems are extremely common and are the leading killer of women worldwide. Many women are misdiagnosed or refused appropriate care because of incorrect stereotypes that heart problems are a man's issue or because they present with non-typical symptoms.
Many women fear that they will be labeled a hypochondriac or that investigating a health issue will interrupt family life or they simply don't think there's anything wrong as we've been fed incorrect information about the symptoms of heart attacks and how the symptoms differ in women.
If you think there's something wrong then you must seek help as soon as possible and keep pushing until you get the care you deserve.
Summary: Heart problems are extremely common and are the leading killer of women worldwide. Many women are misdiagnosed or refused appropriate care because of incorrect stereotypes that heart problems are a man's issue or because they present with non-typical symptoms. Many women fear that they will be labeled a hypochondriac or that investigating a health issue will interrupt family life or they simply don't think there's anything wrong as we've been fed incorrect information about the symptoms of heart attacks and how the symptoms differ in women. If you think there's something wrong then you must seek help as soon as possible and keep pushing until you get the care you deserve.
References:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/women-dont-ignore-3-subtle-heart-attack-symptoms/
https://online.nursing.georgetown.edu/blog/women-stroke-heart-attack/
https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditions/heart-attack/women-and-heart-attacks
