Heart Attack in Women – Critical Facts That You Should Know
People may think that heart attack in women is not such a rare thing to happen- but they are wrong. Women are as vulnerable as men with regards to this heart disease. Heart attack is the primary cause of mortality of both men and women. Getting treatment quickly is critical for life saving medicines and treatments to respond.
Heart attack in women account for almost half of the total heart attack mortality. The most common cause of death of women aged between 40 and 60 aside from breast cancer is heart illness. Over a generation, heart attack in women kills five times as many women as compared to breast cancer.
How to Recognize a Heart Attack in Women
The 1st hour of a heart attack is called the “golden hour”. Getting help within that first hour is very vital and it increases your chances of recovery. But there are some people who become hesitant in asking for help when they first experience its symptoms. They are afraid that when they rush to the emergency room, the medical professionals won’t find anything wrong. So, it is very important that you know the symptoms that signifies that a heart attack is happening.
A lot of heart attack symptoms are brought about by digestive disturbances or other minor conditions. But the only thing that could prove to you that you have experienced heart attack are medical tests. Heart attack may differ from person to person. Heart attack in women may exhibit atypical symptoms like pain between the shoulder blades rather than excruciating chest pain. This is one of the reasons why most of them tend to delay having medical treatment which is a very big mistake.
Heart attack is one situation where having medical treatment promptly can greatly make a difference between life and death. If you are having doubts, err on the side of being more careful and rush to the emergency room and get yourself checked.
Pain is not always a symptom of heart attack. Often, heart attack begins with mild symptoms which may not be painful. Commonly people having heart attack experiences tightness or squeezing feeling in the chest. Seek medical help right away if you experience any of these heart attack symptoms for a minute or more:
Pressure, fullness or pain in the center of the chestPain radiating to the shoulders, neck or armsSevere pain, sudden weakness, dizziness, fainting, sweating, nausea or difficulty of breathingFor those who have angina: any change in the frequency, duration or intensity of the attacks, or symptoms that won’t respond anymore to nitroglycerine
Heart attacks commonly happen from 4:00 A.M to 10:00 A.M because of the increased release of adrenaline during this period. Increased adrenaline in our bloodstream could lead to the rupture of the plaque that causes clot formation and eventually leads to heart attack.
Heart attack in women is very common. So, when you suspect that you are experiencing heart attack based on the symptoms that you have learned, you should keep in mind that prompt medical help is very important. Waiting for more than 15 minutes to see if the pain would ease out can lead you to having permanent damage to your heart. At worst, it can cost you your precious life.