This Surprising Symptom May Indicate a Heart Attack in Women

What comes to mind when you picture someone having a heart attack? You're probably inclined to imagine them doubled over with severe chest pain. While this may be one of the symptoms of a heart attack (alongside many others - these symptoms will help you recognize a heart attack months in advance), symptoms of a heart attack in women can actually be a lot more subtle than they are in men. 

 

The Facts: The American Heart Association found that with regard to heart attacks, women are being under-treated. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, statistics show that 50,000 women died from a heart attack in 2014. It is also estimated that around 735,000 Americans have heart attacks each year.

So how do heart attack symptoms in women differ from men? A woman may experience pressure or pain in the center of her chest, but while having a heart attack, she may also experience jaw pain. Other symptoms specific to women include upper back pain, arm pain, an overwhelming sense of fatigue, heartburn, or a sense of not feeling right. But how can jaw pain relate to symptoms of a heart attack? According to the American Heart Association, if the heart does not give out a good signal, pain can radiate to the jaw, neck or back. However, it is still unclear why jaw pain and upper body discomfort manifest as symptoms in women and not men.

Another question that needs answering is why women aren't getting the treatment they need. The AHA have reported that women generally wait around 54 hours before visiting a doctor, while men wait about 16 hours. It may be because women are more passive about their health than men. It may also be because they have more barriers preventing them from doing so, such as having children to take care of. 

 

However, waiting too long to seek treatment may also result in developing cardiogenic shock, meaning that your heart won't be able to pump enough blood. As a result, waiting too long could also mean that aggressive treatments may no longer be an option. Furthermore, women need to keep an eye out for recurrent symptoms. Statistics show that having another heart attack is actually higher among women than it is in men.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.   

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Heart Attack Signs Every Woman Should Know

Subtle symptoms

It's true: Women are different from men, not least of all when it comes to heart attack symptoms. Once considered almost strictly a man's problem, we now know that anyone can have a heart attack.

A lady had a heart attack in 2012, and like most women, she didn't experience the classic, chest-clutching "Hollywood Heart Attack." Instead she had aching in her arms and chest along with nausea and clammy skin, and like many women didn't realize what was happening.
Heart disease is now the number-one killer of women. Know the signs of heart attack, and call 9-1-1 if you or someone you know has one or more of the following symptoms.

1) Shortness of breath

One study found that 42% of women having a heart attack had shortness of breath.
Although men also have this symptom, women are more likely to have trouble breathing without concurrent chest pain, says a Dr.
The difficulty breathing is usually sudden and may come on for no apparent reason and in the absence of exertion.

2) Upper body pain

Pain in the neck, back, jaw, teeth, arms (typically the left) and shoulder blades is a frequent symptom of heart attack in women.
This is called "radiating" pain and is due to the fact that the heart has many fewer nerve endings than, say, the fingertip, where pain will be localized, the Dr. explains.
"When the heart is being injured, pain can be felt in other areas," she says. Generally, though, pain related to a heart attack is confined to the upper body. It's not likely to travel below the belly button.

Nausea, vomiting, and upset stomach

According to the doctors, women are twice as likely as men to experience nausea, vomiting, or indigestion-like symptoms, such as heartburn, while having a heart attack.
This is often because the blood supply to the right coronary artery, which extends to the bottom of the heart, is blocked, Dr. explains. Unless they're also having chest pain, many women write it off as something they ate when they should be calling 9-1-1, she adds.

Fatigue and sleep problems

Many women—about half—experiencing a heart attack report fatigue that comes on suddenly and has no apparent cause.
One study of 515 women who had had a heart attack found that 70.7% reported fatigue more than one month before the event.
This study also found that about half had trouble sleeping. Any abrupt changes in sleep patterns could be a warning sign.

Flu-like symptoms

Other vague, but possibly life-threatening signs of a heart attack are flu-like symptoms that can also include tiredness.
"If you feel like you just cannot do what you can normally do in a given day, you should consider that it's your heart," says a Dr. "This is one of the most common complaints in women."
Don't ignore it!

Cold sweats

The lady reported feeling "clammy" when she was experiencing her heart attack and, among women, this isn't unusual.
Be wary if you suddenly break out in a cold sweat, especially if you're sure you're not going through menopause. Fortunately, this may be one symptom that actually gets you to the hospital sooner rather than later.

One study of about 1,000 patients found that those who experienced sweating, among other symptoms, were less likely to delay getting to the hospital.

Chest pain and pressure

Classic chest pain may not be the hallmark symptom of a heart attack in women, but it certainly happens.
"There are huge overlaps between men's and women's symptoms," Dr. Hayes says. Any acute chest pain or pressure, such as the classic "feeling like you have an elephant standing on your chest" deserves prompt attention.
"Regardless of what the symptom is, if it's something new and it's not going away, it's better safe than sorry," the Dr. says.

Dizziness or light-headedness

Feeling dizzy or light-headed is another almost unknown symptom of heart attack.
One study found that 39% of women having a heart attack reported feeling this way as the attack progressed. Another study found that women were actually more likely than men not only to feel dizzy, but even to faint.
This is likely the result of a blockage in one of the blood vessels leading to the heart.

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Myths about atypical heart attack symptoms for women squashed

Quashing the myth that women tend to have 'atypical' symptoms during a heart attack, a new study has found that the women who suffer heart attacks show identical key symptoms as men.
The study published  emphasised the need for both sexes to recognise and act on the warning signs.

"Our concern is that by incorrectly labelling women as having atypical symptoms, we may be encouraging doctors and nurses not to investigate or start treatment for coronary heart disease in women," said a cardiology research nurse  and first author of the study.

"Both men and women present with an array of symptoms, but our study shows that so-called typical symptoms in women should always be seen as a red flag for a potential heart attack," she added.

Researchers recorded the symptoms of people attending the Emergency Department (ED) at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary who had a blood test called a troponin test.

This test is used when doctors suspect a person is having a heart attack and measures a protein released by damaged heart cells during a heart attack.

Between 1st June 2013 and 3rd March 2017, doctors in the ED ordered the troponin test for 1,941 people. Of these people, 274 were diagnosed as having a type of heart attack known as an NSTEMI (90 women and 184 men). This is the most common type of heart attack and occurs when the coronary artery is partially blocked.

Chest pain was the most common symptom for both men and women, with 93 per cent of both sexes reporting this symptom. A similar percentage of men and women reported pain that radiated to their left arm (48 per cent of men and 49 per cent of women).

More women had pain that radiated to their jaw or back and women were also more likely to experience nausea in addition to chest pain (33 per cent vs 19 per cent).

Less typical symptoms such as epigastric pain (heartburn), back pain, or pain that was burning, stabbing or similar to that of indigestion were more common in men than women (41 per cent in men vs 23 per cent in women).

Previous research has suggested that women and men report different heart attack symptoms. However, the symptoms were often recorded after a heart attack diagnosis was confirmed, which may introduce bias.

This study aimed to avoid this by asking an independent research nurse to interview and record the symptoms of all patients arriving at the ED with a possible heart attack before they were given a diagnosis.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                       https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                     FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                   

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Don't ignore heart attack symptoms, especially while travelling

A study presented at a Cardiology congress reiterated the importance of not ignoring heart attack symptoms while travelling and keeping emergency numbers at hand. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of natural death among people who are travelling, yet, so far, the long-term outlook for those who have a heart attack while on a trip is unknown.

Speaking about it, study author said, “If you are travelling and experience heart attack symptoms such as pain in the chest, throat, neck, back, stomach or shoulders that lasts for more than 15 minutes, call an ambulance without delay.”

This observational study included 2,564 patients who had a heart attack and rapid treatment with a stent (percutaneous coronary intervention; PCI) between 1999 and 2015 at a Hospital. The hospital is on a peninsula, a popular tourist destination near Mount Fuji, and is the regional centre for PCI.

The researchers compared the demographic and clinical characteristics in residents versus people travelling. Patients were followed up for 16 years and the death rates were compared between groups. Mortality data were collected from medical records, telephone contact, and postal questionnaires.
A total of 192 patients (7.5 per cent) were travelling at the onset of the heart attack. Patients who were travelling were younger and had a higher prevalence of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a serious type of heart attack in which a major artery supplying blood to the heart is blocked.

The median follow-up period was 5.3 years. Locals had a significantly higher rate of all-cause death (25.4 per cent) compared to non-residents (16.7 per cent; p = 0.0015) but the rate of death from cardiac causes was comparable between groups.

Heart attacks during a trip were associated with a 42 per cent lower risk of long-term all-cause death than those that occurred in residents, after adjusting for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, chronic kidney disease, current smoking, prior heart attack, Killip class,2 and STEMI (adjusted hazard ratio 0.58; 95% confidence interval 0.38-0.83; p = 0.0020).

"Our study shows that long-term outcomes after a heart attack while travelling can be good if you get prompt treatment," said the Dr. adding, "It is important that, when you are over the immediate emergency phase, and return home, you see your doctor to find out how you can reduce your risk of a second event by improving your lifestyle and potentially taking preventive medication."

He continued "We also found that overall, patients were more likely to die during follow-up if they were older, had prior heart attack, or had chronic kidney disease. If you fall into any of these groups or have other risk factors like high blood pressure, smoking or obesity, it is particularly important to make sure you know the emergency number at home and at any travel destination."

The Dr. noted that local patients had a higher rate of non-cardiac death, mainly due to cancer. "This may be because most non-residents were from urban areas where people tend to be more health conscious, actively seek medical advice, and have a greater choice of treatment than in remote areas like the Izu peninsula," he said, adding, "In addition, having a heart attack while away from home is a traumatic event that may create a lasting impression and greater health awareness when patients return home."

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A doctor explains why period cramps can hurt way more than a heart attack

Period cramps can be really intense.

 

Two years ago, according to a published story in which a professor said period cramps can be "almost as bad as having a heart attack." 

Last week, the story resurfaced, going viral on social media. 

But gynecologist, who blogs about women's health, wrote that the comparison between heart attacks and period cramps doesn't really work. 

That's because heart attacks are often just mildly painful — and in many cases, they're not painful at all. 

It would be more accurate, she wrote, to compare cramps to being in labor.               

Back in 2016,according to an article, on the monthly misery faced by women all over the globe: period cramps. The story acknowledged that menstrual pain can be serious and even debilitating — and yet, there's been disappointingly little research on how we can treat it.

But the story had a resurgence on social media last week after a lady zeroed in on a single quote from the piece. Reproductive health professor  told  that patients have described cramp pain as "almost as bad as having a heart attack."

That quote sparked immediate interest. Other news outlets  picked up the story, and it spread like wildfire on Twitter. To many women, the comparison wasn't so much surprising as it was glaringly obvious.

But gynecologist, who writes a popular health blog, has called that comparison into question. In a new post published, the Dr. wrote that period cramps are often much more painful than heart attacks. 

"If you are waiting for terrible , excruciating chest pain to tell you that you are having a heart attack, well, you are going to miss the heart attack," the Dr. wrote. "Heart attacks often produce vague symptoms or mild pain, that is why many people ignore them ... In addition, more than 40 % of women  have no pain with heart attacks. It would be dangerous for women to think that a heart attack should be at least as bad as their menstrual cramps."

Besides pain, heart attack symptoms can also include shortness of breath, a lightheaded feeling, nausea, vomiting, and unexplained tiredness, according to the specialists.

But primary dysmenorrhea — the scientific term for painful periods — always hurts.

Period pain happens mostly because of substances called prostaglandins, the Dr.  explained in the post. They're released from the lining of the uterus and make it contract. And during these period contractions, pressure on the uterus can be just as high as it is during the "pushing" stage of labor, she added.

"So if you need an analogy to describe period pain," the Dr. wrote, "use labor or cutting your finger off without an anesthetic."  

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                                             FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                                                             https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                                       FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com