When it comes to heart attacks in women, cardiologists say the warning signs can be subtle.
“I've seen women who came in with abdominal pain and everyone thought it was their gallbladder. When it was, it was a heart attack and she was in her 40s,” said Dr. Jim Sur, a cardiologist with Heart Care Centers of Illinois.
That why Dr. Sur’s message to women is simple.
“If anything above the waist just doesn't feel right, that needs attention,” Sur said.
Typically, most people think of chest pain when it comes to heart attacks.
“When we say typical, we're talking about older white men, and when we see more heart attacks and women and younger patients, we're really seeing different kinds of symptoms,” said Dr. Ben Chung, a cardiologist with UChicago Medicine.
“In many cases, we have patients who really only experience abdominal pain, for example, and that's the main symptom that they have before they present with a heart attack,” said Chung.
Those more subtle signs in women include:
- Jaw, neck or upper back pain
- Fainting
- Fatigue
- Nausea or vomiting
- Indigestion
- Sweating
Sweating and fatigue can be confusing symptoms for women, especially going through menopause. But doctors say women need to pay attention to their own bodies and not be afraid to call 911 for help.
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“I would certainly always advocate, don't blow it off. You know, this can always be worked up and then explain to something different down the road,” said Sur.
Another way to help prevent a heart attack is through regular checkups, including your managing cholesterol and any other risk factors.
“If patients have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, things that can be the risk factors for a heart attack. We want to make sure that we control those, but even without those in place it’s still possible you can have a heart attack, so just really be aware of those symptoms,” said Chung.
