Worried about your heart? The statistics for heart attacks can be scary. Each year 735,000 Americans have a heart attack, and about 1 in 3 deaths in the U.S. is related to cardiovascular disease.
Wondering about heart attack symptoms? These symptoms can be different for women. Here are some heart attack symptoms for women to watch for.
1. Pain or Discomfort in Chest
This is probably one of the most common symptoms. There can be some uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing, or pain in the middle of your chest. It lasts for a few minutes, goes away, and comes back.
2. Pain in Other Areas
Women can have pain in both arms and not just the left side like men. Women are also more likely to feel pain in other areas along with the chest. The pain can be sudden and can wake you up in the middle of the night.
Women can also experience pain in the back, jaw, and stomach. Most jaw pain is on the left lower side.
3. Shortness of Breath
Another common sign of a heart attack is shortness of breath. The person may or not feel chest discomfort when experiencing shortness of breath. When laying down, the shortness of breath can worsen but gets better when sitting up.
4. Cold Sweats
A person can also experience nausea, lightheadedness, or break out in a cold sweat. This sweating happens without any exertion and is sudden.
5. Extreme Fatigue
This symptom could be a sign early on that something is wrong. Like most women, you are probably pretty busy. You probably feel tired, and that’s normal.
If you feel more fatigued than normal or find a new feeling of extreme tiredness, you may want to consult your doctor. This type of fatigue can make your chest feel heavy. You can also feel suddenly worn out after your normal exercise routine.
Simple tasks may make you tired all of a sudden like making a bed, shopping, or walking down the stairs. These are signs you should not ignore, and you may want to talk to your doctor about an EKG test.
What to Do if You Experience Heart Attack Symptoms
You should never ignore any sudden symptoms, like chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, or rapid heartbeats—get help immediately. Call 9-1-1 and follow the dispatcher’s instructions. Do not drive yourself to the hospital.
Try to stay calm and take slow, deep breaths while you wait for emergency responders.
Know the Heart Attack Symptoms for Women
It can be easy to misdiagnose heart attack symptoms for women unless you have extreme chest pain. It’s important to listen to your body and discuss any changes with your doctor.
If you want to schedule testing to make sure your heart is healthy, book online with Thibodaux Regional Urgent Care – Thibodaux. We can perform an EKG test to check the electrical activity in your heart or perform an echocardiogram to view your heart for damage.
Catching problems early and taking action can help prevent a possible heart attack in the future.