Heart Attack Symptoms in Women-What Are They?

Answer 1

I have a pacemaker and I dont know if I'm over reacting or not but I'm not sure how to explain this feeling I'm having. It in the middle of my chest and goes to my back between my shoulder blades. It's not pain but like a lot of pressure, and when it comes on it causes me to have difficulty breathing and swallowing. It doesn't last long maybe a minute or two if that then goes away. It come and goes frequently.

Comments

Hello, I'd suggest that you take a CT scan on chest and see if there's anything abnormal, meaning lung, esophagus, etc.

Answer 2

I woke up to my chest hurting real bab and both of my arms were hurting too.

Comments

If you've had such feeling for a relatively long time, it may be caused by the cervical spine. If it is the first time, it's good to take an ECG to rule out heart problem.

Answer 3

If you have any of these signs, call 9-1-1 and get to a hospital right away.

1. Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
2. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
3. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
4. Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or light headedness.
5. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain. 

Even when the signs are subtle, the consequences can be deadly, especially if the victim doesn’t get help right away.

Answer 4

Heart disease in men is more often due to blockages in their coronary arteries, referred to as obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD).  Women more frequently develop heart disease within the very small arteries that branch out from the coronary arteries. This is referred to as microvascular disease (MVD) and occurs particularly in younger women.  Up to 50 percent of women with anginal symptoms who undergo cardiac catheterization don’t have the obstructive type of CAD.

“When women are sick, they tend to ignore it,” said Jennifer Mieres, M.D., a cardiologist and professor of cardiology and population health at the Northshore LIJ Health System in New York. “We need to put the fact that we’re vulnerable to heart disease on our radar screen and recognize the signs.”

Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, affecting one out of every three in the United States. Nearly half of African-American women have cardiovascular disease.