Hello! I am new to this community and I would like to know more about the signs and symptoms of heart attack that women might experience. My aunt recently suffered from a heart attack but she was not able to recognize the symptoms. It just started with acute shoulder pain. I am really worried because I don't know much about heart health. I do not smoke but I drink occasionally. What should I know about heart attacks and what does one do in case they might be getting one.
Thank you!
Hello ruchika_karnani
Welcome to the forum.
The BHF has this information about women and heart attacks.
hiya!... i suffer from microvascular angina.. paramedics have been out a couple of times after i called 111 for advice regarding chest pain..they also said women can suffer different symptoms of HA from men.. plus i’m a type 2 diabetic and it seems diabetes can affect HA symptoms.. maybe Milkfairy can elaborate on this. she’s a fountain of knowledge 👍😉
Hello! Thank you so much. Are the doctors extra cautious because you have type 2 diabetes?
to be honest.. i’ve never really asked them lol.. maybe MichaelJH or Milkfairy might be able to enlighten us both about the effects type2 diabetes might have on being able to ‘feel’ HA symptoms?
Hello.... I have have been Type 1 since childhood (no time off for good behaviour) and was involved in running a support group for about a decade. Over the years I have encountered Type Is, Type IIs, Type 1.5 (a good friend) and gestational diabetes. Poor control can affect blood vessels (affecting kidneys, heart, eyes, legs - PAD) and nerves. Where nerves are affected this can cause loss of sensation or nerve pain that has no stimulus. If nerves in the chest are affected this can result in pain not being experienced during a heart attack. Although many articles say CVD related issues are more common in Type IIs this is more to do with their increased risk factors before diagnosis: age, overweight/obese, raised cholesterol, raised HbA1c and raised BP
thanks Michael👏
How’s your aunt I too had back shoulder pain which gps thought was muscular but thinking back I was experiencing fatigue which I thought was from being anaemic also headaches which I never had but these things went these things went on off for two months but it was the last day I had enough of extreme back shoulder pain with sweatiness I think women who experience symptons one after the other or shoulder pain should do ecg and blood tests to rule out heart attack or help them earlier I too was quite healthy never drank or smoke normal cholesterol normal bp
Hi, women are more prone to have a pain go across their back and over to the chest or around in my case. They can also have one from their stomach that's why we think indigestion could be a heart attack, it could but quite rare. But I would read up from the professionals and Not DR Google..🙂
Agree the BHF site is good source of info. re HA in women. I only had episodes of what thought was severe indigestion/ heartburn usually in the early hours which turned out to be unstable angina & then HA.
Hi, I'm 71 and female. Had a heart attack August 2018. I do have spinal problems so when I got pain in my back near my shoulder blade, I assumed that's what it was. I'd seen my GP several times about breathlessness but he put it down to the spinal problems. Then I got absolutely horrific indigestion which lasted all day. It was really bad; burping constantly to get rid of what felt like heartburn. husband rubbing my beck, taking rennies and indigestion remedies like sweets. It was only around 8pm when I started to get tingling pain down my left arm and up my neck that I realised this wasn't my usual shoulder or spine pain and I rang 999. The paramedics picked up something odd on the ECG and took me in but once I got there around 10.30pm , the nurse who checked me over ( eventually) did not classify me as possible heart attack because, as the reply to my complaint said" Not sweating or grey, no apparent chest pain." I was left on a corridor behind a swing door that locked when it swung to; on my own for about 6 hours. ( I had no watch) It was only when the shift changed next morning and a nurse passing by saw me crying that she asked if I was ok. I use a mobility scooter which they refused to take with me so I couldn't even get to the toilet. After that things moved but it was still 10.30 am before blood results came back confirming a heart attack and 2.30pm before I was found a bed on the acute coronary ward. I still had no chest pain and, as they'd given me tablets, the "indigestion" eased off.. I was offered an aspirin when I arrived but no one told me why so I refused it because of the stomach pain. It was fortunate I had my painkiller with me as I take it every 3 hours. Once I'd been admitted my treatment was wonderful. I was hooked up to a monitor, sent for an angiogram early next morning and two stents fitted. They found 4 blockages; two of which were later checked and found not bad enough yet for stents. So my symptoms; left side back pain, dreadful indigestion and, after about 8 hours, tingling arm and neck. NO clutching my chest or grey and sweating which was all the hospital looked for.
I hope you are keeping well now after your traumatic experience. God forbid but the outcome could have been a lot worse but let's hope you are recovering well. Just proves the state of our beloved NHS. I remember once being told that only if you have a tingling in your fingers or hand then to go to hospital by a GP never mind the pain down your arm or chest pain. Sometimes we know our own bodies well enough to know that something isn't right. Hope you are keeping well and let's hope you are never in that position again
Thank you. I just had my annual check up and seem to be fine. I was lucky it didn't cause a lot of damage to my heart. Very traumatic at the time though being locked behind that door with no way of calling for help or even getting to a loo. The hospital has changed rocedures but I'm not sure they've done any training on female heart attacks. All tey seemed concerned about with me was that I wasn't grey, sweating or clutching my chest.
Hi Qualipop glad to hear everything is OK. You went through an awful time but lived to tell the tale. So happy to hear the hospital have since changed their procedures. I think you should have been seen as a priority but what now is a priority within the NHS. Think they need to read up on various symptoms for heart conditions/failure instead of relating to grey colour, sweating and of course the classic clutching chest
Omg! That sounds ghastly! I hope you are feeling better now.
Yes thanks; fine now. Even my GP learned a lesson.
My heart attack symptoms was just an achey pain behind my breastbone. I took 2 paracetamol and went back to sleep. A few hours later the ache returned so rang the surgery on husbands suggestion/ insistence.. I needed a triple byepass.
Thank you so much for replying! I hope you are better now.
Its 15 months and I still can’t walk far but otherwise fit and healthy.thank you
Hi. Your HA symptoms were virtually the same as mine. Mine started at 5am on my birthday! I took an aspirin and spoke to friend in Australia who’d phoned to wish me a happy birthday and who kept telling me to phone 999. I waited until 8am when local hospital opened; closed that night as no staff! I had a triple bypass a week later.
I have met a man in his forties his only symptom of his heart attack was a thight feeling around his right wrist.
One of his colleagues thought he wasn't going to good and called an ambulance.
Women do have chest pain too which seems not to be picked up on by healthcare professionals as soon as women mention their other symptoms of feeling tired, sense of unease, stomach pain, feeling their bra is on too tight, arm, jaw, upper back pain.
It has only recently been recognised that women have lower levels of Troponin when they have a heart attack too.
Less likely to experience a ST elevation Myocardial infarction (STEMI)
I didn't have any pain at all, just a feeling of pressure across my chest. a woman I was in the ward with just had shortness of breath and sweating.
I didn't have any pain at all. I thought I was having a flush, I got very hot and sweaty. I started feeling sick and started thinking something was wrong. As quick as it all started it eased off. I didn't feel any different. Over the next two days I struggled to get my breath when walking so hubby made me go to the GP who did an ECG that showed abnormal. I was admitted into hospital and diagnosed as having an nstemi heart attack cause by a 90% blockage in one artery. I had a stent fitted two days later. I was very very lucky.
You're lucky you could get to your GP and get an ECG. I went with breathlessness and feeling as if someone was standing on my chest on Friday and got told to "Try to persuade the nurse, if she has time at your cardiac check up on Monday, to do an ECG. Thank goodness she did find time today.
I have had 2 heart attacks aged 51 and 53, the first I just felt strange, I had pain between the shoulder blades, sternum tightness I was pale and had shortness of breath luckily my husband was next door I just said stay with me and watch me I don't feel right... Then said call an ambulance he said your lips are blue and I was cold but sweaty.
When the ambulance arrived probably about 10 minutes, I felt a bit better and walked to the ambulance. Later that night in hospital I had raised troponin levels and later was sick as having a heart attack... Went on to have a quadruple bypass, as diagnosed with genetic heart disease. I don't drink alcohol or smoke and follow a wheat free diet and exercise regularly. The latest heart attack was mainly fatigue and jaw pain.
I went to my GP after having a stomach bug for 3 weeks. Obviously something I said rang alarms with her and she sent me for a blood test that included troponin. Two days later, having had the blood test in the morning, I was sitting in a pub with my friends when I got a phone call from a panicking out-of-hours doctor, excitedly shouting that I was having a heart attack and I needed to be in hospital NOW so he would send an ambulance to my house (he didn't bother asking if I was at home)! After politely assuring him that I wasn't having a heart attack, I hung up and told my friends. After some discussion we decided that it might be an idea to pop into the local a&e and ask them what he was on about.
I'd had a serious heart attack, the scarring pulling my mitral valve out of shape and causing moderate to severe regurgitation. 18 months, 2 stents, an ICD and a sack of medication later, I have never had any pain. Except during all the procedures obviously! My regurgitation is now mild, thanks to the meds.
Odd very weak/heavy feeling in arms, faint feeling with nausea - female.
Hi, I’m female and had heart attack with stents fitted last year at 53yrs. Was out on a long solo walk , on an icy day, when my heart went really cold. Stuffed my gloves in bra! Lol. To get heart warm . Luckily only 10 mins from home. By the time I got there I had a really cold sweat going on. Never felt one before. Short breath. Absolutely No chest pain.
Deep down I knew it was a h.a.
Felt silly phoning 999 but was in Cathlab ( 1 hr away) and stented in under 2.5 hrs.
Every minute counts and I was lucky not to loose too much heart muscle. 🥰
Time does matter.
Glad u all ok but now gps say I have severe heart damage so that’s why I think it’s important for women to be tested more for heart conditions
This article was published in December outlining the differences between men and women with acute coronary syndrome which can include heart attacks.
I just had small pain in middle of chest one morning in bed. It dontinued for too long so I told other half. He went off and looked up heart attack symptoms and kept coming and asking if I had pains around chin or neck and then if sweating etc. Eventually I did have those symptoms so we drove to a and e. My symptoms were not what I would call serious and no crushing pain or anything. Hope this helps
I had a mild indigestion sensation and tingling in my jaw. Pulse went to 120, it is usually in the 50’s. I have a strong family history of HA with my brother and father both having HA’s in their 30’s. I am a retired RN, decided something wasn’t right and took myself to A&E where I was seen immediately. Ekg had ST changes. Slight rise in treponin. I was kept in for angio and had 80% & 90% blockages that showed recent bleed. Both were stented . 62y/o female.
can you remember what your troponin level was?
Yes it was 10 then went to 13. Both in the normal range but the Dr was concerned it had risen and putting it together with the ST EKG changes he was suspicious of a cardiac event. I was kept in overnight and had a treadmill stress test the next day. It had significant ekg changes for ischemia at 6 mins, so was stopped...I felt fine!! Felt like a bit of a phoney really and was surprised at the % of blockage Found on angio.
The BHF website says that it is a myth that women have different symptoms to men but the American Heart Association and other papers I have read say that the difference in symptoms is another reason heart attacks are less frequently detected in women. This was my experience:
I was presenting at the IfM in Cambridge. Professional and feeling confident, I was enjoying the day but I left early afternoon feeling unwell. I thought perhaps I had eaten something containing dairy at lunch as I am lactose intolerant. I had symptoms of nausea and a rising heat, but I wasn’t sick. My throat was constricted and my tongue felt as if it had been anesthetized at the dentist. I had earache and felt weak. The pain in my throat and neck had started to move down into my chest and I felt weak and shivery. I couldn’t breathe. It felt like my windpipe was constricted in some way. I struggled to breathe and felt sick and weak with my neck feeling like I was choking. I had some pain in my chest but not much really and while I was on the phone to the emergency services I think I drifted off a bit because the lady kept asking me to keep talking. By the time the ambulance came I was breathing more easily. I recovered and drove home!
I went to the doctor the next day, it wasn't my usual doctor and he told me I had had a panic attack and it was not the symptoms of a heart attack. Apparently this is quite common. I had similar symptoms over the weekend and so I saw my own GP on the Monday. When I described my symptoms to him he suggested angina, prescribed a GTN spray and referred me on. I had a Cardiac MRI confirming scarring from a mild heart attack and furring of my arteries. I had a quadruple heart bypass just before Covid-19 isolated me at home.
I was very lucky to have received a warning shot across the bows. Last year I had felt fatigued, struggled with concentrating and finding words when speaking for nearly a year and attributed it to the peri-menopause but the neck, throat and chest tightness did make me feel something was really wrong. I don't want to worry anyone but whatever your symptoms, get them checked out and make sure you are taken seriously.
Hi Tillymint
Have you seen this research?
leeds.ac.uk/news/article/42...
sciencedaily.com/releases/2...
There is an acknowledgement of the unconscious biological bias in Cardiology. The male body is used as the template throughout medicine , design and science.
You maybe interested in the book
' Invisible woman' by Caroline Criado Perez
Thanks Milkfairy. Useful article from Leeds Uni but I find the Science Daily article very self-contradictory and am disappointed on mixed messages from BHF. Some symptoms are less well associated with a heart attack full stop but in addition there seems to be growing evidence that the complexity surrounding women’s health (hormones, menopause) and experience of heart related illness are escaping many GP’s. It is the lack of awareness amongst women of heart attack symptoms which I have become aware of that has led me to share my experiences with this community.
Will definitely check out book, thanks.
I had an ache across my left shoulder which came and went for two days. Third day I had what felt like indigestion. I took gaviscon . It came and went all day until 8 o’clock, feelings of unease made me call ambulance. While waiting for them to come I was extremely hot( it was quite a cold windy night, my two companions were freezing , we were in a car) eventually I found breathing difficult . Towards the end of 55 minute wait I had become like a rag doll, my husband holding my chin up. I did not feel dreadful pain just a tightening in the chest. Troponin levels over 27000. Doctor seemed amazed.
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