Symptoms of a Heart Attack in Women: Do You Know the Signs?

It’s pretty easy to spot a heart attack, right? You imagine every commercial for heart medication you’ve ever seen; a grandpa type falling to his knees at a backyard barbecue, clutching his chest and wheezing. Everyone asks him what’s wrong, and he complains of pain in his chest, shortness of breath, shooting pain in his left arm. No brainer, right? But what about the symptoms of a heart attack in women? It’s the same, isn’t it? A heart attack is a heart attack.

Not necessarily. Symptoms of a heart attack in women share a lot of the symptoms of a man’s heart attack. Everyone knows the classic causes, and the classic signs. High cholesterol (usually resulting from poor diet), high blood pressure (often resulting from stress), diabetes; these are all typically to blame for heart disease. Suddenly the heart goes out, the man goes down, and as soon as they get him to the emergency room everyone knows exactly what to do, and they may save his life, because everyone knows exactly what’s going on. But symptoms of a heart attack in women can not only differ from those of a man’s, but be similar to many ailments reported by women, causing symptoms of a heart attack in women to be overlooked, and not thought to be heart attacks.

Symptoms of a heart attack in women can begin weeks before the actual heart attack. Fatigue, shortness of breath, and abdominal pains are early symptoms of a heart attack in women. Various other ailments, like asthma and gastrointestinal issues, are usually to blame for symptoms like these, and are therefore overlooked as symptoms of a heart attack in women. A woman can feel enough pain to be worried enough to go to the emergency room, and if she has complaints like these, doctors may not spot them as symptoms of a heart attack in women, because they can often actually be symptoms of something else entirely. It is news to everyone, doctors and patients, that symptoms of a heart attack in women can be totally different from the well-known symptoms.

In addition to the classic male symptoms, symptoms of a heart attack in women can include extreme fatigue, nausea, weakness, dizziness, lower chest discomfort, and most importantly, upper abdominal pain. Symptoms of a heart attack in women are similar to male heart attack symptoms in signs of chest pain, but women are more likely to feel it in the upper abdominal region instead of the middle chest area. Sometimes, they have no chest pain at all, which makes it difficult to spot other symptoms of a heart attack in women. Doctors typically mistake abdominal pain as a sign of a gastrointestinal or obstetrical problem, and don’t include it in symptoms of a heart attack in women. The heart attack goes misdiagnosed, and it can be months before it is properly diagnosed, and those symptoms of vague and seemingly unrelated discomfort are revealed to have been symptoms of a heart attack in women.

Everyone knows that a heart attack can cost someone their life; it happens to people everyday, and it’s a prime health fear for the older population. The most important thing to do when experiencing symptoms is to act on them immediately; get help quickly and it could save your life. Symptoms of a heart attack in women should be as well known as a man’s symptoms, especially because the condition can worsen when left untreated. Make sure all of your loved ones know the classic and unknown symptoms of a heart attack in women: nausea (even vomiting), mild or strong chest or abdominal pains, dizziness, weakness, are all symptoms of a heart attack in women. It’s important to note, however, that while symptoms of heart attack in women can include chest or abdominal pain, often neither is present. If you assume that symptoms of a heart attack in women must include chest pain or it isn’t a heart attack, but maybe an asthma attack or a stomachache, it could cost them their life.