Heart Attack: Atypical Symptoms In Women

A heart attack has typical symptoms that indicate a serious condition.

Heart Attack: What Are The Symptoms In Women? Heart disease affects not only the male but also the female population, especially in middle to old age. In many Western countries, heart disease is the leading cause of death in women.

Even more common than breast cancer or ovarian cancer. It is worrying that women see their doctor less or much later than men when they have heart problems. This is one reason for an increased and rising death rate.

A heart attack has typical symptoms that indicate serious ailment. Even so, the symptoms in women can be atypical, which makes diagnosis difficult and can lead to confusion with other diseases. 

Risk factors for heart attack

A heart attack can happen suddenly. However, there are certain risk factors that can increase a likelihood:

• diabetes
• high blood pressure
• Cigarette consumption
• Elevated cholesterol
• obesity
• Sedentariness

A healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of having a heart attack. Unpredictable factors, such as congenital heart defects or other heart problems, can also be the reason for a sudden heart attack.

Heart attack: Atypical heart attack symptoms in women

In many cases, symptoms of an infarct are atypical, which can mislead both the patient and the doctor. In fact, many experts agree that these symptoms are unlikely to be correctly diagnosed unless the patient belongs to the risk group.

In any case, every woman should know and recognize these atypical symptoms.  These symptoms can last for days or weeks.

fatigue

Fatigue is often associated with lack of sleep, drug use, or stress. However, if tiredness occurs frequently, it could be the first sign of a heart attack or a heart defect.

In a study that was carried out on women who had had a heart attack, 70% of the test subjects were tired a few days or weeks before.

insomnia

Insomnia can also be an atypical symptom of a heart attack in women. Sleep disorders can have various causes that should be taken seriously.

One study has shown that almost half of  women who have had a heart attack suffered from insomnia days or weeks before.

Cough and difficulty breathing

Sudden difficulty breathing without having a respiratory disease can also indicate a heart attack. These symptoms can occur during everyday activity and are often accompanied by an unexplained cough.

However, it could also be another health problem.

Acidification and bloating

Acidosis and heartburn, as well as bloating after a meal, could be early symptoms of a heart attack in women. One study found that 40% of heart attack patients also had these symptoms.

Dizziness and diffuse sweating

While these symptoms are mostly related to menopause, it could be a heart attack symptom. 40% of women with heart attacks experienced dizziness and lightheadedness, and another 40% experienced cold sweats.

Feelings of fear

Unexplained anxiety is also a symptom to watch out for, especially if accompanied by breast stitches. A third of the heart attack patients experienced feelings of fear beforehand.

It should be noted here that stress and feelings of fear significantly increase the risk of a heart attack.