Women & Heart Disease
The signs of a heart attack are not the same in men and women. Know the symptoms and identify your risk factors today.
Know the Signs. Act Immediately!
In the United States, a woman suffers a heart attack every 90 seconds. If you think you or someone you know is having a heart attack, call 9-1-1 immediately. By getting help quickly, treatment can save a life and prevent permanent damage to the heart muscle. Treatment works best if given within one hour of when symptoms begin.
Symptoms for Women
The signs of a heart attack are not the same for men and women. Women experiencing these symptoms could be showing early signs of a heart attack:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Heartburn-like feeling or loss of appetite
- Pain, numbness, discomfort in the back, neck or jaw
- Pressure or squeezing in the chest
- Unexplained cough
- Trouble breathing or shortness of breath
- Light-headedness or sudden dizziness
- Unexplained fatigue
More Dangerous to Women than Cancer
Although many of us think of heart disease as a man's disease, it isn't. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in American women. About eight times more women die from heart disease than breast cancer; in fact, heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined.
More than half of the women who experience heart attacks do not make a full recovery. If you are fortunate enough to avoid a heart attack, heart disease can still cause complications, such as angina and heart failure, which can interfere with everyday activities and severely diminish your quality of life.
You Can Make a Change
The power to change is in your hands. You are lucky enough to be alive — why not adopt healthy habits that help you feel better and maintain your independence and quality of life? The first step is to identify your risk factors.