Awareness Needed of Female Heart Attack Signs

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Women need to become far more aware than they are of the signs of a heart attack, which differ significantly from heart attack symptoms in men, many doctors say. And they desperately need to be educated in how to avoid heart problems in the first place. Why? Because heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular disorders are the leading killers of women in the United States today.

“Among all U.S. women who die each year, one in three dies from heart disease,” said Kimberly Skelding, a Danville, Pa., cardiologist and women’s heart advocate. “It kills more women than all cancers combined.”

Every woman, beginning at the age of 35, should get a 15- to 20-minute heart screening, Skelding recommends. Hospitals often offer the screenings as a free service. They include examination of blood pressure, body mass index, heart rate, cholesterol and weight.

Through this screening, women can detect heart problems early or avoid them entirely. If there are one or more warning signs (which can include obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, sedentary lifestyle or taking blood-pressure-elevating birth control pills), doctors will provide advice on how to eat healthier, get into exercising, lower cholesterol and blood pressure and quit smoking. Skelding said these small steps alone can save a woman’s life.

Women need to know that their heart attack symptoms are much different from men’s, which usually manifest as chest pains. While women’s most common heart attack sign is also chest pain or discomfort, other frequent symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

“Women are often so busy taking care of children, spouses and elderly parents that they don’t stop to take care of themselves,” said Skelding. “They often ignore the symptoms, hoping they are just stress or will go away. Sometimes, a woman is afraid to go to her doctor, because she doesn’t want to look foolish if the problem really only was indigestion.”

Typically, heart attacks start undramatically, with only mild pain or discomfort. Sufferers often are puzzled about what’s going on, and wait too long before getting help. “If you have any chest pain, don’t wait, go to the emergency room immediately,” said Nirode Das, a cardiologist affiliated with Northeastern Pennsylvania Cardiology Associates. “You have 90 minutes to get help. When you walk into an ER, you will get results immediately. Time is muscle. Saving heart muscle is our goal.”

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