New findings show that heart attack symptoms do not differ for women, compared to men. Heart attack symptoms that are the same for both men and women include:
• Chest discomfort: pain, heaviness, burning, tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Anxiety
• Pain goes to jaw, neck, throat or back, and arms
The only difference between symptoms of heart attack in women, compared to men, was that women tend to delay seeking treatment, and are more likely to refuse to believe they were having a heart attack. Women also may be more likely to have pain in the throat, jaw and neck during a heart attack.
According to cardiac nurse Martha Mackay, a Canadian Institutes of Health Research clinical research fellow and doctoral student at the UBC School of Nursing,
"Both the media and some patient educational materials frequently suggest that women experience symptoms of a heart attack very differently from men. These findings suggest that this is simply not the case. Clear educational messages crafted to ensure that both women and health care professionals realize the classic symptoms are equally common in men and women.”
MacKay urges women be aware of heart attack symptoms, and tell their doctor how they feel. Physicians and nurses should ask more questions to help women describe heart attack symptoms that can lead to rapid diagnosis and treatment needed to prevent heart damage. Women are 16 percent more likely to die after having a heart attack, and it is important for women to know heart attacks can happen to them too.
The study dispels the myth that women experience different symptoms than men related to heart attack. The researchers studied 305 consecutive patients undergoing angioplasty to open the vessels that supply blood to the heart. When blood flow is blocked from a clot in the heart arteries, the symptoms are the same as heart attack. They found that signs and symptoms of heart attack do not differ for women, compared to men.
Resource: Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT HEART
• Chest discomfort: pain, heaviness, burning, tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Nausea
• Anxiety
• Pain goes to jaw, neck, throat or back, and arms