Heart attacks in women...what to watch for.
By gapeach65
@gapeach65 (805)
United States
September 27, 2007 3:56pm CST
I got this from my aunt and felt the need to pass it on, since my mom battled heart disease for so many years. Please note, this is not about me, but I felt the information was too important not to share. I hope that it may help someone.
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 (not mine) experience with a heart attack.
“I had a completely unexpected 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 and 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 that had 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 foot rest, 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 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 interpret 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". Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE YOURSELF TO THE ER or phone a friend --you're a hazard to others on the road, and so is your panicked husband or friend, who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.
3.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.
4.DON'T ASSUME THAT 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.
1 person likes this
3 responses
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
27 Sep 07
Peach that is an eye opening story, for far to long women have thought heart attacks were a mens health issue. No finally the medical community is beginning to realize that is
t is just not men, but women that are suffering and dieing from lack of knowledge. Thank you for sharing this.
1 person likes this
@gapeach65 (805)
• United States
28 Sep 07
I know, even my mom's symptoms were dismissed for years. I hope by posting this, it will help someone, if it helps just one person, it was worth it.
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
28 Sep 07
rotflmao, now what was your discussion about typos the other day? I don't even think I was typing with my own fingers when I typed out that response.
1 person likes this
@HomeFlower (987)
• Canada
28 Sep 07
I just never knew. I've always heard it wasn't the same symptoms as the mens heart attacks but no one posted what the symptoms were.
Thanks for sharing this. It's very important.
1 person likes this
@gapeach65 (805)
• United States
28 Sep 07
I'm glad I'm able to share this information with others, it's so important for women to know these signs.
@gwendovere (1279)
• United States
27 Sep 07
I'm sorry for your loss. Thank you for posting this. Heart disease runs in my family as well.
1 person likes this
@gapeach65 (805)
• United States
28 Sep 07
Thank you, and I hope by posting this it helps someone out.