Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

When having a heart attack, both men and women feel pressure or tightness in the chest. However, women also experience other less common heart attack symptoms, and in fact they are at a higher risk of death than men with a heart attack, due to misdiagnosis or late treatment. . Therefore, you need to know the specific symptoms if you are female. When you feel you are having a heart attack, you should call an ambulance right away.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Recognize symptoms

1. 

   Notice chest or back discomfort. One of the most common symptoms of a heart attack is a feeling of heaviness, tightness in the chest, tightness, or pressure on the chest or upper back. This doesn't have to be sudden or painful. Symptoms may last for a few minutes, then disappear and reappear.
   • Some people confuse a heart attack with heartburn or indigestion. If the pain doesn't appear immediately after eating, or if heartburn is infrequent, or is accompanied by nausea (it feels like vomiting is about to come), see your doctor.

2. 

   
   
   Identify any discomfort in your upper back. Women with a heart attack often have a throbbing pain like a toothache or ear pain in the jaw, neck, shoulder or back. This pain is caused by nerves that send signals in these parts and travel to the heart. Pain may come and go before it gets worse. It can sometimes make you wake up in the middle of the night.
   • This pain can occur in every part of the body, or sometimes in the parts mentioned above.
   • Women don't usually feel pain in their arms or shoulders like men do when they have a heart attack.

3. 

   
   
   Watch for dizziness and / or headache. If you feel suddenly tired, your heart may not be getting enough blood. If you have trouble breathing or have cold sweats accompanied by dizziness (feeling as if space is spinning) or headache (feeling drowsy), you may have a heart attack. The decreased blood flow to the brain is responsible for these symptoms.

4. 

   
   
   Watch for symptoms of difficulty breathing. If you suddenly run out of breath, this could be a heart attack warning sign. Out of breath means you find it hard to breathe. You should then breathe with pursed lips (like whistling). This does not take much effort to take your breath and relaxes you and reduces the feeling of "shortness of breath".
   • If you have a heart attack, the blood pressure in the lungs and heart will increase, otherwise the heart's pumping power will decrease.

5. 

   Watch for digestive symptoms, such as nausea, indigestion, and vomiting. Gastrointestinal symptoms are more common in women than men. These symptoms are often confused with stress or cold in women. This is due to poor blood circulation and lack of oxygen. Nausea and indigestion can last for a while.

6. 

   Watch for breathing difficulties when you wake up. Sleep apnea occurs when soft tissues in the mouth, such as the tongue and throat, block the upper airways.
   • A diagnosis of sleep apnea means you have stopped breathing for at least 10 seconds repeated several times during sleep. This apnea reduces blood flow to the heart.
   • According to studies conducted at Yale University, sleep apnea increases the risk of death or heart attack by 30% (over a period of five years). When you wake up and can't breathe, you may have a heart attack.

7. 

   Notice feelings of anxiety. Sweating, shortness of breath, and a tachycardia often occur with anxiety. These symptoms are also common when there is a heart attack. If you suddenly feel anxious, it is possible that the nerves respond to heart stress. In some women, anxiety also causes insomnia.

8. 

   Watch out for symptoms of weakness and fatigue. Although fatigue can be caused by many things, such as strenuous work, reduced blood flow to the brain. If you are having difficulty completing tasks for the day because you need to stop and rest (more than usual), the blood may not circulate in the body at a normal rate, and signal a risk of pain. heart. Some women have a feeling of heaviness in their legs for weeks or months before having a heart attack. advertisement

Method 2 of 2: Recognize the importance of symptom recognition

1. 

   Note that women are at an increased risk of dying from a heart attack. Women with a heart attack are very likely to die from delayed treatment or misdiagnosis.If you suspect you have a heart attack, mention it when you call the ambulance. This helps the doctor check the risk of a heart attack, even if the symptoms are not related to a heart attack.
   • Do not delay treatment if you have a heart attack or cardiovascular disease.

2. 

   Distinguish between a heart attack and panic. Panic attacks occur when stressed. The cause of the panic disorder is not clear; however, this condition is often hereditary. Women and people over the age of 20 or 30 are more likely to develop panic attacks. Some of the more common, but less common, symptoms of panic attacks include:
   • Fear
   • The palms of the hands were sweating
   • Hot face
   • Chills
   • Foot splash
   • Feels as if you need to escape
   • Fear that you are "crazy"
   • High temperature
   • Difficulty swallowing, or throat tightness
   • Headache
   • These symptoms may go away within 5 minutes, or peak after 20 minutes.

3. 

   Seek medical help if you experience panic symptoms, but have had a heart attack in the past. If anyone who has previously had a heart attack experienced the above symptoms of panic attacks, they should see their doctor. Patients with a diagnosis of panic disorder and concerned about a heart attack should have their cardiovascular function tested. advertisement

Advice

• See your doctor for a checkup if you are concerned about your heart health but don't have symptoms of a heart attack.

Warning

• Get medical help right away if you experience symptoms of a heart attack.