I read this in the LA Times yesterday and I realized I didn't know what the symptoms of a heart attack were in a woman versus a man. I hope no one here ever has to find out, but given that winter is heart attack season (a study of deaths in LA county found the highest number of heart attacks around January 1), this is good to know:
Los Angeles Times (Melissa Healy), 12/11/06: "Although heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, it has been recognized less often by doctors and patients because of a long-held belief that women are protected from heart disease by their hormones.
They are — up to a point. But after menopause, a woman's risk of having a heart attack goes up each year, and researchers are finding that for women, many of heart attack's "classic symptoms," as defined by men's experiences, just don't fit.
Women, in short, experience heart disease and heart attack differently than men. A man experiencing a heart attack will often complain of crushing pressure in his chest and pain radiating down his left arm. Although a woman having a heart attack may describe the same thing, many women instead describe a sharp pain in the chest or mid-back. Often, extreme fatigue — the result of a buildup of fluid in the lungs — is a woman's principal complaint. And swelling in the feet, ankles or legs can be a key sign of impending heart attack for a woman. Breathlessness, dizziness and shortness of breath are indicators of heart attack commonly described by women.
Typically, a woman's reaction to these symptoms is also different than a man's. A 2006 study of Irish women found that women took five times longer than men — an average of 14 hours after symptoms began — to go to an emergency room in response to complaints that ended up being diagnosed as a heart attack. And U.S. studies have found that women not only take longer to go to a hospital with heart complaints, but they also wait longer to be assessed and treated.
Experts recommend taking preventive action to avoid heart attacks: Don't smoke, or if you do, stop; get blood pressure and cholesterol checked, and get them treated if they are too high; exercise regularly; and avoid becoming overweight. In addition, women should be attentive to their bodies and what's normal for them. If their legs seem more puffy than usual, fatigue is nearly overwhelming or if discomfort or pain in the upper body is out of the ordinary, they should seek help."
Stay healthy!
