Heart Attacks in Women

By Melanie McGrath

A heart attack is the most extreme form of heart muscle pain, it signals that a portion of your heart is dying. Usually a blockage of fatty deposits, or plaque, in a heart artery reduces or cuts off the blood and oxygen to a certain portion of the heart. Or a small piece of plaque can break off and a blood clot will form around it in the artery, shutting off the blood and oxygen. Either way, without oxygen this portion of your heart muscle begins to die. [i]

Heart attacks claim the lives of more American women than men each year, and pose a greater threat to American women than all forms of cancer combined. Unfortunately, many women do not know that the symptoms of a woman having a heart attack can be significantly different from those of a man.

The pain of a heart attack can feel like bad heartburn. You may also be having a heart attack if you feel a pressure or crushing pain in your chest, sometimes with sweating, nausea or vomiting, you may feel tightness in your chest. One may experience pain that extends from your chest into the jaw, left arm or left shoulder. [ii]

Women may experience major symptoms prior to their heart attack, those include unusual tiredness, sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, indigestion and anxiety. The major symptoms women may experience during the actual heart attack include shortness of breath, weakness, unusually tiredness, flu like symptoms and dizziness. [iii]

There is also a ‘silent’ heart attack, in which the women experience no pain or other symptoms during a heart attack. Even so, damage to the heart has occurred. These ‘silent’ attacks are dangerous because the heart’s ability to survive another heart attack is greatly reduced.

Very few pre-menopausal women have heart attacks, unless they smoke, have diabetes or are on birth control pills for a long period of time. Other major risk factors include high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, overweight and obesity, and physical inactivity. [iv]

A person can significantly lower their risk of heart attack by lowering high blood pressure, controlling diabetes, stopping cigarette smoking, losing excess weight, exercising regularly and lowering levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol and increasing the levels of the good (HDL) cholesterol in the blood. Eat heart healthy foods including, whole grain foods, vegetables and fruits. Choose lean meats and low-fat cheese and dairy products. Limit foods that have a lot of saturated fats, like butter, whole milk, baked goods, ice cream, fatty meats and cheese.

A heart attack is a leading killer of both men and women in the United States. But fortunately, today there are excellent treatments for heart attack that can save lives and prevent disabilities. Heart disease is the second leading cause of death for Native American and Alaskan Native Women. Heart disease has also become a major cause of disability and hospitalization for Native American and Alaskan Native Women.

Smoking damages the lining of the arteries and promotes plaque buildup. Plaque consists of fatty deposits like cholesterol that collect inside the arteries. Plaque can eventually block the arteries and cut off the blood and oxygen supply to the heart or brain. Smoking also affects substances in the blood, such as proteins, making the blood sticky and more likely to clot. [v]

Sources:
[i] National Heart Lung and Blood institute (2008) ‘What is a heart attack?’ http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/HeartAttack_WhatIs.html

[ii] Familydoctor.org (2008) “Heart Attack: Warning Signs and Tips on Prevention” http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/heartdisease/basics/291.html

[iii] Robert (2008) “Women’s heart attack symptoms different from Men’s” http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/healthmedical/a/womensami.htm

[iv] National Heart Lung and blood institute (2008) ‘Who is at risk for a heart attack?’ http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/heartattack_risk.html

[v] Boston Scientific (2005) “Health Benefits Develop Quickly After you Quit Smoking” http://www.bostonscientific.com/templatedata/imports/HTML/lifebeatonline/summer2005/learning.shtml