Heart Attack: What Women Need to Know About Their Heart
Heart Attack symptoms are different in men and women. Heart Disease is still under- diagnosed or suspected by primary physicians treating their female patients. Therefore it is up to the woman to be proactive with any concerns about heart attack or heart disease which may run in her family and any symptoms she experiences.
The Seven Signs to Look Out For:
Shortness of Breath
Prior to a heart attack a key feature women experience is the inability to catch their breath on stairs or doing daily activities.
Insomnia – Women reported having trouble falling asleep in the month prior to their heart attack, even when tired.
Fatigue – Over 70% of women having a heart attack reported experiencing extreme fatigue which prevented them from performing their regular routine.
Indigestion or nausea – Many women described having Stomach pain, intestinal cramps, nausea, and digestive disturbances prior to their heart attack.
Pain in Shoulder, ear, jaw or neck – Many reported feeling pain and tightness running along their jaw and down the neck, and sometimes up to the ear. The pain can extend to the shoulder and arm–particularly on the left side–or it may feel like a backache or pulled muscle in the neck and back.
Anxiety and stress – Unsurprisingly, extra emotional unrest such as feeling anxious and stressed were reported by these women.
Flu-like symptoms – Clammy, sweaty skin, along with feeling light-headed and weak, can lead women to wonder if they have flu when, in fact, they’re having a heart attack.
It is recommended that every woman have their heart checked as part of their annual physical. If your primary doctor brushes your concern aside, see a cardiologist. Heart Disease is one of the country’s biggest, silent killers.
Should you have cardiac surgery or suffer a heart attack, you will be unable to drive, bend/reach or lift for a while once you have returned home. That is the time to get assistance for transportation, laundry, cooking and other activities which may be taxing or tiring. An assistant with you can go a long way to keep your recuperation on course.
