Female Heart Attacks

[umsami]

A nurse friend posted this on Facebook and I think it's an important read.  Symptoms are  often far different for women...

 

The person who shared it's link is in the bottom of the post to give attribution.  She urges people to share this, so hopefully OK with board rules.

 

 

Quote

 

An ER nurse says this is the best description of a woman having a heart attack that she has ever heard. Please read, pay attention, and SHARE..........

FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.

Women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have ... you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation--the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!

I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else... but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.

I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.
Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body, not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up... which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road.

Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.

Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive.

A cardiologist says if everyone who sees this post would Share or re-post, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

*Please be a true friend and SHARE this article to all your friends, women & men too. Most men have female loved ones and could greatly benefit from know this information too!
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[G5052]

Very important topic. A healthy friend of mine had one at 40, and it took almost a year to recover.

Here's a memorable video that is very relatable:

 

[brehon]

I share similar information regularly with middle aged females who are having non-specific symptoms and tell me they’ve never been diagnosed with heart disease. And by middle aged I really mean age 43-45+. 

Please don’t drive yourself to your doctor or an ER. PLEASE. Not too long ago I ran a wreck where some woman tried to drive herself to an ER — one not able to perform stat caths, as it turned out. She caused a wreck severely injuring both herself and the other driver. 

PLEASE CALL 911! 

 

The one quibble I have with her post is that most people — men and women — don’t need oxygen when having an MI and, in fact, several studies have shown that oxygen when not needed can cause more coronary damage. People having MIs need aspirin and a stat cath lab. 

Otherwise, I thought the information was spot on and incredibly vaulable for women as we tend to minimize symptoms. 

[PrincessMommy]

Thank you.  

 

[unsinkable]

58 minutes ago, brehon said:

I share similar information regularly with middle aged females who are having non-specific symptoms and tell me they’ve never been diagnosed with heart disease. And by middle aged I really mean age 43-45+. 

Please don’t drive yourself to your doctor or an ER. PLEASE. Not too long ago I ran a wreck where some woman tried to drive herself to an ER — one not able to perform stat caths, as it turned out. She caused a wreck severely injuring both herself and the other driver. 

PLEASE CALL 911! 

 

The one quibble I have with her post is that most people — men and women — don’t need oxygen when having an MI and, in fact, several studies have shown that oxygen when not needed can cause more coronary damage. People having MIs need aspirin and a stat cath lab. 

Otherwise, I thought the information was spot on and incredibly vaulable for women as we tend to minimize symptoms. 

As the cath labs folks say *Time means tissue.*

 

[Janeway]

Thank you for the information!!! I really appreciate it.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Great information!  Just one quibble.  Aspirin doesn't do anything to prevent a first heart attack.  But it can prevent a 2nd one due to the fact that it prevents platelets from sticking to already damaged tissue.  (Just learned this in Anatomy and Physiology class.)  

[TCB]

8 minutes ago, dirty ethel rackham said:

Great information!  Just one quibble.  Aspirin doesn't do anything to prevent a first heart attack.  But it can prevent a 2nd one due to the fact that it prevents platelets from sticking to already damaged tissue.  (Just learned this in Anatomy and Physiology class.)  

I think aspirin can help to prevent clots in roughened arteries though, even if you haven't had a heart attack, such as roughness caused by smoking or high blood pressure.

[Kassia]

1 hour ago, StellaM said:

 Ended up she wasn't having a heart attack, but why take the risk ? 

 

 

We have a very high deductible so, unfortunately, we don't get medical help until we are absolutely certain that something is very wrong.  It's scary.

[umsami]

18 minutes ago, Kassia said:

 

We have a very high deductible so, unfortunately, we don't get medical help until we are absolutely certain that something is very wrong.  It's scary.

Yup.  My previous insurance was a 50%, no maximum, coinsurance expense.  So, if I'm having a heart attack....say it costs $100k....that's 50k.   If i'm not, and the ER is $10k (not unlikely).... it's still a $5k experiment.  Not something I can easily risk.

Edited September 28, 2018 by umsami

[TravelingChris]

I have so many of heart attack symptoms at different times due to completely different causes- GERD, nerve issues, costochondritis, muscle spasms, and on and on. So I saw my doctor this week and told him how I do not want to ignore warning signs but can't be at er every week either. He understood and is ordering a test to check  for calcium deposits in my arteries. He told me that if I don't have any, I can stop worrying. If I have medium or high results, then we will go from there.

 

[dsmith]

Thanks for the info. A good friend from high school just lost a friend to a heart attack. This woman had lots of warning signs, made two trips to urgent care, was scheduled for a stress test, and died during a family dinner. She was in her early 50s. Very sad and scary. Not all doctors are familiar with how this can present differently in a woman and I think some just don't take women as seriously as men. I'm seeing a big shift, at least around here, to urgent care visits over regular doctor visits, and for anything that isn't really minor I just don't think it's a good idea. 

[goldberry]

2 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

I have so many of heart attack symptoms at different times due to completely different causes- GERD, nerve issues, costochondritis, muscle spasms, and on and on. So I saw my doctor this week and told him how I do not want to ignore warning signs but can't be at er every week either. He understood and is ordering a test to check  for calcium deposits in my arteries. He told me that if I don't have any, I can stop worrying. If I have medium or high results, then we will go from there.

 

Hmm, maybe I should check into that.  When I started working out several years ago, I started having chest pains, that were very much like indigestion but went into my jaw also.  I went in and they had me do a stress test and the thing where they inject you and look at you under a machine.  They said there was nothing wrong.  It seems that I get indigestion more when working out or exercising.  I feel *pretty sure* it's indigestion, because soda usually makes it go away (even though my science daughter says that's not possible.) But if it was my heart, surely soda wouldn't work!   But I get worried because it increases when I work out.  I always wonder if I was really having a heart attack, would I confuse it with the indigestion and blow it off.

Adding, family history of early heart attack and severe coronary blockages in my dad.  But he was a smoker (quit) and poor eater, although not overweight.  

Edited September 28, 2018 by goldberry