Heart Disease in Women: Different Than in Men?
Heart Disease in Women: Different Than in Men?
Both men and women having a heart attack can experience chest pressure that feels like an elephant sitting on one's chest. About 64% of women who die suddenly of CHD have no previous symptoms prior to the fatal attack. Others experience angina (dull, heavy-to-sharp chest pain/discomfort); neck, jaw, or throat pain; or pain in the upper abdomen or back. Anginal symptoms may occur during rest or physical activity or may be triggered by mental stress.
Women reportedly are more likely to present with chest pain that is sharp or burning and more frequently have pain in the neck, jaw, throat, abdomen, or back. Sometimes heart disease is silent and not diagnosed until a woman experiences signs or symptoms of heart attack or acute MI (severe chest pain/discomfort, upper-back pain, indigestion, heartburn, nausea/vomiting, extreme fatigue, upper-body discomfort, shortness of breath, light-headedness, cold sweats); heart failure (shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling of feet/ankles/legs/abdomen); arrhythmia (fluttering feelings in chest, palpitations); or stroke (sudden weakness, paralysis or numbness of face/arms/legs, facial droop, especially on one side of the body). Other symptoms of stroke include confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech, difficulty seeing in one or both eyes, shortness of breath, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, loss of consciousness, or sudden and severe headache.
Cardiovascular Symptoms of Heart Attacks
Both men and women having a heart attack can experience chest pressure that feels like an elephant sitting on one's chest. About 64% of women who die suddenly of CHD have no previous symptoms prior to the fatal attack. Others experience angina (dull, heavy-to-sharp chest pain/discomfort); neck, jaw, or throat pain; or pain in the upper abdomen or back. Anginal symptoms may occur during rest or physical activity or may be triggered by mental stress.
Women reportedly are more likely to present with chest pain that is sharp or burning and more frequently have pain in the neck, jaw, throat, abdomen, or back. Sometimes heart disease is silent and not diagnosed until a woman experiences signs or symptoms of heart attack or acute MI (severe chest pain/discomfort, upper-back pain, indigestion, heartburn, nausea/vomiting, extreme fatigue, upper-body discomfort, shortness of breath, light-headedness, cold sweats); heart failure (shortness of breath, fatigue, swelling of feet/ankles/legs/abdomen); arrhythmia (fluttering feelings in chest, palpitations); or stroke (sudden weakness, paralysis or numbness of face/arms/legs, facial droop, especially on one side of the body). Other symptoms of stroke include confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech, difficulty seeing in one or both eyes, shortness of breath, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination, loss of consciousness, or sudden and severe headache.