6 Symptoms of a heart attack in women

When a woman has a heart attack, the symptoms may not always be the same as that for men. Women don't always get the same classic symptoms as men, such as chest pain that radiates to other parts of the body. Then, what are the symptoms of a heart attack that are often experienced by women? Check out the explanation about heart attacks that occur in women below.

Heart attack in women

In comparison, the heart attacks experienced by women and men are quite different. The risk of heart attack experienced by women is indeed longer, starting at the age of 55 years, while men are at the age of 45 years. However, the severity of heart attacks experienced by women is usually higher.

The cause of heart attacks in women is more dangerous because they are often experienced when they enter old age. Therefore, his heart problem becomes even more complicated. Generally, in old age, women also have other heart health problems.

Not only that, the severity of heart attacks experienced by women occurs because often the symptoms of a heart attack that arise are even ignored. Usually, this is done because the symptoms that appear do not indicate a heart problem.

Symptoms of a heart attack that often occur in women

Here are some of the symptoms of a heart attack that are more common in women, such as:

1. Chest pain or chest discomfort

Chest pain is actually the most common symptom of a heart attack. However, some women may experience it differently than men. At the time of experiencing this symptom of a heart attack, your chest may feel full or squeezed.

It can also cause pain in other parts of the body. When a heart attack occurs, your chest usually feels really uncomfortable. It feels like someone is tying your chest with something really tight.

Like the symptoms of a heart attack experienced by men, chest pain is also one of the most common heart attack symptoms experienced by women.

2. Pain in the arms, back, neck or jaw

This type of pain is more common in women than in men. This may be confusing, because you might think that pain as a symptom of a heart attack in women will focus on the chest, not the back or the jaw.

The symptoms of this woman's heart attack can occur gradually or suddenly, and may slowly disappear before suddenly reappearing but with a more intense frequency.

If you are sleeping, these attacks can wake you up from sleep. Therefore, you should report any unusual or unexplained symptoms.

3. Shortness of breath

Breaths that are too shallow can make your breath sound like it is gasping. In fact, you may find it difficult to breathe especially when you are doing light to heavy activities. Especially if this condition is accompanied by fatigue or chest tightness.

This is a condition that can indicate a problem with your heart. Symptoms of a mild heart attack in women can be experienced while you are lying down, but the symptoms will subside when you are back sitting.

4. Sleep disturbance

Apparently, sleep disturbances are also one of the symptoms of heart attack experienced by women. Usually, this one symptom is felt by women in the form of:

Difficulty sleeping.
Often woke up in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason.
Feel tired even though you have had enough sleep.

If you experience this one symptom, ask your doctor if your sleep disorder is related to a heart attack.

5. Stomach ache

Not a few women experience pain or pressure in the abdomen right before a heart attack. However, there are also digestive problems that are closely related to heart attack symptoms that occur in women.

Nausea
Gag
Indigestion

Unfortunately, many people misinterpret this symptom. In fact, in some cases of heart attack in women, women experience severe pressure in the abdomen. In fact, if it is described it feels like there is an elephant sitting on its stomach.

6. Cold sweats

If you sweat from exercising or engaging in strenuous physical activity, that's normal. However, if you are sweating while not doing anything, you should be suspicious. The reason is, this condition is one of the symptoms of a heart attack experienced by women.

Especially if the sweat produced by the body is cold sweat. This is relatively common in women who have a heart attack. You may feel more like sweating due to stress while experiencing it.

7. Fatigue

Not a few women who have a heart attack feel tired. Even if these women had been sitting still for a while and were not actively moving their bodies. So, it's not wrong if you should suspect excessive fatigue as a symptom of heart attack that is often experienced by women.

In fact, this feeling of fatigue can make you feel insecure just to walk to the bathroom. However, not all women experience this symptom.

Risk of death from heart attack in women

According to the Texas Heart Institute, after one year of having a heart attack, more than 50% of female patients are more at risk of dying than men. In addition, women have a higher risk of having a second heart attack than men.

There are several things that cause the risk of death from heart attack experienced by women is higher than in men. One of them is the spread of plaque across the walls of the arteries, which often confuses the results of heart examinations in women.

This causes the handling of heart attacks in women often too late. Not only that, reactions to heart attack medications experienced by women can also increase the risk of death, for example, reactions to heart bypass surgery.

Therefore it is important for you to prevent heart attacks in women to minimize the risk of dying from a heart attack.