Heart Attacks In Women

I almost lost my best friend during the Easter weekend.

She had spent the week as most of us do -- cleaning, shopping, cooking and generally preparing for the holiday weekend.  She was feeling fine, perhaps a little tired, perhaps a little "under the weather" as she suffers from Spring time allergies and would often get slight sinus headaches this time of the year.

We did our normal 2 mile walk together around the park on a Friday morning, as we do most mornings for exercise. She was excited her daughter was coming home for a visit, and as we parted in the parking lot we happily wished each other a good holiday. It could have been the last time I saw her!

Late that evening she had dozed off sitting in the couch, when all of a sudden an odd sensation woke her up.  Her chest felt on fire.  She described it to me as if the sun suddenly burst in her chest.  Her arms went heavy.  She knew something was seriously wrong but walked up the steps to the second floor of her house to wake her husband and she told him to get dressed as she needed to go to the hospital.  He asked what was wrong and then asked her if she wanted to take something first and rest awhile and see if it helped.  Thank God my friend knew she couldn't risk this and told him she thought she should go right away to the hospital.  Luckily, they live two blocks away from a small community hospital and her husband drove her up to the emergency room where she then collapsed.  In a flurry of motion she was whisked inside where they found her heart rate and blood pressure were dangerously low -- she was having a heart attack!  The nurses and doctors furiously began emergency treatment.  A cardiologist on call came in and told her she was going to be transferred to a hospital in Manhattan where cardiac cauterization would take place immediately on arrival. "Don't worry," he told her, "We are going to save your life! The ambulance whisked her through traffic from Brooklyn into Manhattan, where the small community hospital is affiliated, and two cardiac stents were placed into my friend's heart's almost totally occluded artery.  She would live to joke with me on the phone on Easter Sunday and give praise at how life gave her a second chance.

What were the warnings signs before this event?  Not many. Many times the first signs of heart disease is a heart attack. My friend is fit, trim and strong.  She never experienced shortness of breath or chest pain.  Her cholesterol was within normal limits, maybe slightly high by today's stricter standards.   She had found out she had high blood pressure only six months prior but it was being controlled by medication.   She exercises and doe not smoke or drink.  But even with good lifestyle women after menopause are more susceptible to developing heart disease, and there are other risk factors such as family history, taking birth control pills, being exposed to second hand smoke, etc.

With any severe episode of chest pain or discomfort it is imperative to go to an emergency room and tell them right away you are having chest pain, which my friend did, and this is what ultimately saved her life!

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According to The National Institute of Health , heart disease is the number one killer of women, yet women are more likely to delay in seeking emergency treatment.

"Women should learn the heart attack warning signs. These are:

• Pain or discomfort in the center of the chest.
• Pain or discomfort in other areas of the upper body, including the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
• Other symptoms, such as a shortness of breath, breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.

As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

If you feel heart attack symptoms, do not delay. Remember, minutes matter! Do not wait for more than a few minutes–5 minutes at most–to call 9-1-1. Your family will benefit most if you seek fast treatment."
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The pamphlet "The Heart Truth for Women" can be ordered from The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute that gives information on the causes of women’s heart disease and practical suggestions for reducing your own personal risk of heart-related problems.  It can also be viewed and downloaded for free online in PDF form at this link.
 
The Mayo Clinic web site also has good information about possible symptoms of heart attack in women, which can sometimes be as vague as unusual or unexplained fatigue.  You can also look at risk factors and prevention tips on their web site.
 

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Let's do all we can to improve our lifestyles to prevent heart disease and to remember to call 911 and go to a hospital at the first sign of unusal discomfort.  It can save your life!