In movies, actors portraying heart attacks often collapse to the floor, clutching their chest in agony. However, the silver screen’s dramatization sometimes doesn’t mirror real life — especially when it comes to women.
Dr. Kerry Paape, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Sacred Heart Hospital, says women often explain away subtle heart attack symptoms.
“Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States, but women often attribute their heart attack symptoms to less life-threatening conditions, like acid reflux, the flu or just getting older,” she says.
February is American Heart Month and Paape wants to educate women about heart attack warning signs. She says knowing the difference could save someone’s life.
Heart attack symptoms can include: uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest; pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach; shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort; and breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and back or jaw pain.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, of more than 1 million heart attack patients, women under 55 are less likely to seek medical attention for atypical symptoms and more likely to die in a hospital from a heart attack than men of the same age.
“Women think it's the flu or stress, and they don't want to waste time going to the hospital only to have doctors tell them it's nothing serious,” Paape said. “But you should always err on the side of caution."
When you have a heart attack, time isn’t on your side. When an artery is blocked, the heart muscle begins to die after 30 to 60 minutes. Every minute you wait after that hour, more heart muscle will die. And once you lose it, it's not coming back, Paape says.
To keep heart disease in check, Paape recommends:
Knowing your numbers. It’s important to know your weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose numbers. If any of those numbers are out of range, consult with your primary care doctor about starting medication to get them under control.
Visiting your primary care doctor regularly. A primary care doctor can notice the subtle clues and recommend additional tests, such as echocardiogram or heart catheterization. Almost all insurance companies pay for a yearly physical at no cost to the patient, so there's really no excuse to miss that sit-down with your doctor.
Taking time for exercise. A busy day at work or running errands is not a substitute for exercise. To keep arteries and other blood vessels flexible, ensuring good blood flow and normal blood pressure and cholesterol, you need two hours and 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (brisk walking) per week or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity (jogging, running).
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Women experience subtle heart attack symptoms