Below is from an email I received regarding female heart attacks. It's a story from a woman who suffered one & survived. Females do not experience the same symptoms as men & it is important that all be aware of the differences. I have checked with an ICU nurse, who verifies what is said in the story. I thought this might be something of interest & wanted to spread the word to others.
"FEMALE HEART ATTACKS
I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best
description I've ever read.
Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction). Did you know that women
rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing
heart attack ... you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold
sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the
movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.
"I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior
emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it on.
I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in
my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually
thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy
Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.
A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've
been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a
dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a
golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most
uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and
needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to
hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial
sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything
since about 5:00 p.m.
After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing
motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably
my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my
sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering
CPR).
This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into
both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we
all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals
of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear
God, I think I'm having a heart attack!
I lowered the footrest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step
and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart
attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or
anywhere else ... but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know
that I need help, and if I
wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment.
I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next
room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a
heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating
into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts.
She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the
front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down
on the floor where they could see me when they came in.
I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost
consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their
examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance,
or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly
awaken when
we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical
blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance.
He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you
taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interprets what he
was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until
the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram
balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they
installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.
'I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken
at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it
took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and
St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was
already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart
(which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and
installing the stents.
'Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I
want all of you who are so important
in my life to know what I learned first hand.'
1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not
the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my
sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than
men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were
having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or
other
anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in
the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen.
My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I
advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening
that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm'
visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!
2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if you can , take an
Aspirin.
Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on
the road.
Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking
anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.
Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's
at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his
assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the
Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need
to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally
OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.
3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal
cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated
reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or
accompanied by high blood pressure). MI's are usually caused by long-term
stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly
hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw
can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more
we know, the better chance we could survive."
My sister had a heart attack when she was 43. She was walking into work when it happened. (at a hospital) It was only weeks later, getting tests for back surgery that it was discovered. She was told by her cardiologist after her open heart surgery that in her experience women either don't know that their having one (differing symtoms) or die from them, never knowing what hit them.
I work at a cardiac rehab facility and I appreciate this story being told. I would also like to add that heart disease is the #1 killer of women.
let's take care of our hearts ladies!
It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen.
I cannot echo the information and especially the above strongly enough.
9 years ago my mom went into the hospital for pneumonia (she was 62). She came home after a week with a clean bill of health - a full physical and EKG had been performed and there was NO SIGN of any problem. Four days later she began to suffer horrible heartburn - the feeling of heartburn, but with no reflux. That was on Tuesday. She thought it might be that she was taking dairy with her meds in the evening, so she quit drinking milk at night. She took pepcid (the dr had given her prescription strength stuff). She still had heartburn.
We spoke on the phone on Thursday night and she was fine ... cheerful sounding, no pain, no weakness, just couldn't ditch this (in her words) "damned heartburn"!
Finally on Friday morning the pain was worse and she was having a hard time swallowing and was short of breath. My dad took her to the hospital. They immediately ran an EKG and said "you're having a heart attack and have been for the past 4 days". They did a cardiac catheterization and she died in the middle of the procedure ... her heart was too damaged to sustain the strain.
It was a total and complete surprise to everyone, including her doctors. No one knew. And had she gone in on Tuesday or even Wednesday morning, she might have survived. As it was, after 4 days of continual MIs, she simply had no working heart muscle left.
I sincerely hope no one else ever has to deal with anything like what we went through ... so read this article and take it to heart. I wish we'd all known earlier that it could ahve been a possibility.
.
Last edited by PhotoChick; 07-23-2008 at 01:37 PM.
I had a coworker who worked a whole night shift 11pm-7am, and said she just felt really tired, maybe had the flu. In the morning, other coworkers talked her into going to the ER (we work in a hospital) and she was having a heart attack. She went to the cardiac cath lab, but they said the damage was already done, they couldn't help her. She died in the hospital that afternoon. A friend told me later that she had been complaining of her arms feeling "weak" for a couple of days prior.
My other heart attack story is about my mother in law. She had been baby sitting my kids on a Monday and that night while brushing her teeth, she broke out in a sweat. Her husband popped 2 aspirin in her mouth and drove her to the hospital. She had a stent put in and she was ok for about 5 years. While undergoing chemo for breast cancer, she died one night in her sleep from cardiac arrest (according to the death certificate). My son and I had seen her the night before and she seemed fine. Actually, she looked better than she had since she'd started her chemo.
Thanks for posting this article. We all need to be aware.
You just never know.
In hindsight my sister saw some things that should have made her stop and call the doctor. Her biggest symptom was fatigue and horribly swollen ankles one weekend, days before her heart attack. She had a defective artery, it was 1/3 the size of the others, so while the blockage wasn't large, in the smaller artery it was.
I'm 2 years younger then her, but have had a cardiac stress done, in light of the defect. I am happy to say she is the defective one in the family (yes I know it's bad but I couldn't resist)
Thank you for posting this.. it's amazing to me how many women still don't know that heart disease and heart attacks are the #1 killer here in this country for women and not breast cancer.
Photochick- I'm so sorry for your loss. I am very sensitive to heartburn due to stomach reflux problems and I do keep this in the back of my mind whenever I am having heartburn.
Last edited by blondebritbrat17; 07-23-2008 at 09:46 PM.
I am so glad I posted this. I am sorry for the losses you've endured because of this silent killer of women. I hope everyone shares the story with everyone they know to spread the word. Maybe it will help save a life.
Female Heart Attack Story
(yes I know it's bad but I couldn't resist)
