Do women get chest pain when they are having a heart attack or angina?
HEART DISEASE IN WOMEN: Unveiling Unique Symptoms
While the central gripping chest pain or pressure is a typical manifestation of heart strain or a heart attack, it's crucial to recognise that women often experience different symptoms compared to men. Unfortunately, this divergence can lead to under-diagnosis in women, making it imperative to raise awareness.
It's noteworthy that much of the research on heart disease has historically focused on male participants, but there's a positive shift towards a more inclusive approach.
FACTS FOR WOMEN: Navigating the Complex Terrain of Heart Health
Heart blood vessels in women commonly narrow gradually along their length, unlike men, where narrowing often occurs in one short section.
Heart strain in women might present as "breathlessness," persistent fatigue, or vague chest discomfort, sometimes without the typical chest pain associated with men.
Unlike their male counterparts, women may experience heart strain or a heart attack without any chest pain or tightness.
Heart strain can be triggered not only by physical exercise but also by rest, sleep, and mental stress, presenting a challenge for accurate diagnosis.
Heart disease stands as the leading cause of death for women globally.
Untreated high blood pressure is a prevalent issue among women, contributing to widespread narrowing of heart vessels.
PRIORITIZING HEART HEALTH: A Call to Action
To safeguard their heart health, women should:
Regularly check blood pressure and cholesterol levels, especially if there's a family history of heart disease, if overweight, diabetic, or 40 years of age or older.
Be mindful that symptoms in women may deviate from the traditional chest pain associated with heart disease.
Recognize that high blood pressure is a treatable condition.
Embrace physical exercise to lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol.
Opt for nutritious food choices to lower insulin levels and maintain healthy blood vessels.
This blog post was inspired by a TEDx talk delivered by a female cardiologist from New York. She emphasized the need for increased awareness, research, and tailored treatments for women, considering the unique symptoms they may exhibit during heart-related events. As of her talk several years ago, strides have been made in addressing the gender gap in heart health research.
Heart disease in women:
Overall women experience a heart attack or heart strain with the usual central gripping chest pain/pressure. But women also have other experiences/sensations of heart strain -different from men- and so a woman having a heart attack is less likely to be picked up by doctors than a man having a heart attack.
Bare in mind most of the research on heart disease has been done in male participants, but that is changing.
Facts for women
Commonly the heart blood vessels narrow throughout the length of the vessel and are less likely to narrow in one short section as they do with men.
Heart strain can look like ‘breathlessness’, feeling ‘tired’ and ‘fatigued’ with vague chest discomfort or neck pain
More often than men, a women having heart strain or heart attack has NO chest pain/chest tightness
As well as physical exercise, heart strain or a heart attack can be brought on by rest, sleep, and mental stress, which can be confusing for doctors…
Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women.
Untreated high blood pressure is common in women causing a widespread narrowing of the heart vessel
SO we need to address our heart health as a priority.
Women should have their blood pressure checked and cholesterol checked regularly if someone in their family has heart disease, if they are overweight, have diabetes or if they are 40 years of age or older.
Remember that sometimes women dont have the usual chest pain associated with heart disease.
High blood pressure is easily treated.
Exercise reduces our blood pressure and helps bring down cholesterol.
Reducing unnecessary low nutritious food will help lower our insulin and in turn keep ur blood vessels healthy.
The blog was inspired by a TEdx talk i watched given by a female cardiologist from New york, who wanted people to know that women with heart attacks get missed.
that women do have other symptoms of a heart attack that men do not have.
She wanted more research into women’s heart health as all of the studies we used to decide on treatments were carried out in men. that has changed since her talk some years ago.