I was recently watching a Canadian program which states that women are NOT being diagnosed and treated for heart attacks as effectively as men due to differing symptoms (which I think is true, because I am testiment to that fact)
I decided to take a look at what the BHF had to say on this gender symptom issue, here is the link:
To some degree the BHF agrees with the above initial statement, however they then have a link half way down that webpage called "Read more about the myth of ‘female’ heart attack symptoms." which is totally contradictory. Here is the link:
The BHF should make up their mind about what information they are giving to women because at the minute the information is very confusing and misleading in my opinion
I personally believe there is a gender difference in symptoms. I woke up with a tight chest, I couldn't walk very far (10 paces) before I felt really ill. I was diagnosed by 2 male paramedics as having acid reflux when infact I'd had a heart attack
What do other ladies think about their symptoms?
Written by
Speedbuggy
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Took my wife to doctors in October,she had a pain at the top of her stomach for a few days.Doctor said you look worried why?She said I'm worried it may be my heart.Doctor felt her stomach and took her blood pressure and said I can assure you it's not your heart.Went home five hours later massive heart attack and died.x
I'm so sorry to hear about your wife. I got quite emotional reading your post. Thank you so much for talking about your experience. My thoughts are with you at this sad time
Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry to read this. So very sorry for your loss and also sad to hear how dismissed you both were. I hope you have people to lean on and offer you care and support. So sorry.
There was an investigation and now an inquest.It turns out that the locum we saw although a qualified doctor she was training to be a GP and hasn't worked in this country for a number of years.x
I hope the inquest goes in your favour so I will keep my fingers crossed for you. It won't bring your lovely wife back but it should improve the Dr's ability to treat patients correctly in the future...
I hope it gos well and the truth is revealed. I had a 2 day inquest 4/23, my autistic mentally ill brother died on ward in MKH by asphyxiation on tuna sandwich lodge in his throat & chest!Inappropriate food and drowsy, one of his meds was increased which caused the drowsiness. We had too coroner who agreed with everything I said and pronounced death from asphyxiation.
Time is a big healer, but you may need some bereavement support. Please have a word with your gp I'm sure they can arrange something for you. Please talk on this site if it helps you in anyway
If you look at all of the articles it doesn't seem that the BHF agrees that Women have different symptoms to Men which may be missed , so their view is opposite to the Canadian report and to the reported experience of many Women whom report going to a GP several times with pain which is not diagnosed as being suspected heart issues before finally ending up in A and E with heart events.The second article , and the comments of the research , however , seem contradictory to their own conclusions.
On the one hand they say their study of patients entering ED with cardiac symptoms show both Men and Women experiencing exactly the same thing.
But then they contradict that by pointing out that women do seem to suffer more radiating pain to the jaw and stomach and nausea than men do..... Basically, the symptoms that Women often report they suffered prior to the Emergency itself which got dismissed as GERD, "women's pains" or Anxiety at a surgery level, depending at what age a Woman goes to report these symptoms.
It's not surprising that in their view Men and Women report exactly the same symptoms when they arrive at the ED .
By that point, both genders are experiencing more severe and obvious cardiac symptoms and are having , or just about to have an active heart event, but this shouldn't be used to disprove or refute the idea that their symptoms leading up to the event, or the early warning signs can differ quite significantly, or imply that differences in reported women's cardiac symptoms are a "myth".
The research makes grave assumptions, as is often the case when medical professionals assess patients ( as in their opinion the patients clearly don't understand their own clinical history or bodies as well as them !!!) especially along gender, ethnicity or age divides.
They assume that the only reason the symptoms appear different is because they are usually based on post cardiac event reporting when Women may have added in symptoms they have had prior to an attack which they've heard are reported by others or they may find significant after the fact.
Just because these symptoms may be reported later does not make them less important or relevant. In fact, it makes them more crucial in getting to the root of the matter.
All patients , both male and female , will only report the worst symptoms they are experiencing at that moment in A and E , and forget , or not feel capable of, reporting all the things they felt in the weeks before because of pain affecting communication and memory,
And ,of course , in that emergency situation all the symptoms felt by both genders is likely to be identical.
Post event reporting allows the patient to remember the symptoms they had for weeks or months prior to the "main event". These can be vastly different for each individual , but more common symptom patterns can be seen to occur . Often, womens early symptoms have more similarities with other women , mens symptoms with other men.
By dismissing these as a "myth" , doctors, researchers, and the BHF could well be missing lesser acknowledged "silent warnings" which should be highlighted to mainstream clinical practice and could over time reduce the amount of emergency events that occur.
One thing I would note is that as there is also less conversation between Men about their health in general and they are less likely to go for medical help for certain uncomfortable or embarrassing symptoms , the differences between Male and Female cardiac symptoms could be wider still , as there is little acknowledgement or evidence being collected about Male specific symptoms that could have been occurring in the period before their Cardiac events.
Perhaps , if researcher's really want to discover if gender differences in cardiac warning signs are actually a " myth" what they need to do is be more open minded and systematic . Create a more thorough study or Meta-analysis of a large cohort of patients including noting symptoms reported at previous primary care appointments before a severe attack occurs , as well as the ED reports and anecdotal evidence during post treatment to see that these symptom differentiation patterns exist or not.
They certainly shouldn't just dismiss the idea of differences between any demographic groups , rather offensively, as a " myth" until more comprehensive facts have proved it as such because it's that sort of attitude that has delayed people's diagnosis or put off many different groups of people from seeking medical care for fear of being dismissed .
It is also that sort of attitude that delays big changes in health care and delays improvements in diagnostics and self care .
And that is the sort of attitude that creates the danger of people or doctors leaving things too late and increasing the chance of a critical event and sadly, in some cases , unnecessary deaths.
Thanks for adding this, it's a really important issue in the preventative care debate. Bee
I lost my mum 35 years ago to a massive heart attack. The doctor said she had indigestion (he asked her what she'd eaten in the hours before her appointment and mum said she'd had a fruit cocktail at lunchtime). I remember the doctor's reply "grapes will cause indigestion" and he recommended Rennies. She passed away that evening.
Thanks for such a brilliant report Bee. Love and hugs. Jan xxx
That must have been really upsetting for you, you have my sympathy. This just shows how doctors can twist things around to suit them and not the patient and its still happening to women even today
Sorry to hear about what happened to your Mum.Unfortunately, a misdiagnosis of indigestion seems to be far too common for both women and men.
It is astounding that doctors will often not believe that we can tell the difference between the two.
My Mum died after an undiagnosed liver condition which they only found after she had a fall at home during COVID.
She had , had the condition for several years before and complained of pain and new symptoms in that area but because her blood tests appeared normal and then they stopped monitoring as often they brushed her off for over a year saying it was just connected to her other stomach issues and health anxiety.
I have a friend whom went to AandE twice with Fatigue , a cough , jaw and chest pain and they brushed it off as an infection . She went on holiday because she decided if they didn't think it was serious she wouldn't cancel. She had a heart attack on the first day and it turned out that she had pulmonary heart disease originated cardiomyopathy. She was 43 at the time. I suppose the one positive was that she'd gone to visit friends near one of the best cardiac centres in the UK so they managed to revive her twice and saved her life.
They did point out that if she'd still been at home after receiving the care she had got she probably would have died. They pointed out she was a test case and should have been tested immediately.
She moved away to the area so that she could get the best care.
It shows that often the post code lottery means the difference between a proper awareness about the less common warning signs for certain illnesses and how quickly you will be taken seriously.
It is well known that women's heart disease is overlooked.
Women experience chest pain too, however they tend also to experience other symptoms. Women may use different words to describe the feelings in their bodies.
Women may say their bra feels to tight rather than chest tightness.
These symptoms seem to be translated by healthcare professionals into anything but the heart causing the woman's symptoms.
A heart attack becomes a panic attack. Angina becomes anxiety.
Women tend to have a different pattern of heart disease, they are more likely to have angina/ ischaemia non obstructive coronary arteries ANOCA/INOCA, microvascular dysfunction and coronary vasospasms.
About 10% of hearts attacks occur without any permanent blockages to the coronary arteries. Myocardial Infarction non obstructive coronary arteries MINOCA.
These types of heart attacks disproportionately effect women. The common ccauses of a MINOCA are ANOCA conditions such as microvascular dysfunction and coronary vasospasms.
Another possible cause is a spontaneous coronary artery dissection SCAD, which is more common in women who have recently given birth.
Women can have Takostubo syndrome events. This is a poorly understood and under researched heart condition.
The stents and artifical valves maybe too big for women's smaller blood vessels and heart as they were designed for male bodies and only a few women take part in clinical trials.
Women's heart disease is sadly under researched, under recognised, poorly treated and women are not offered invasive treatment at the same rate as men.
I live with a rare type of ischaemia heart disease. My coronary arteries go into transient constrictions causing a lack of blood supply to my heart. I am at risk of major cardiac events ( I am in hospital for second time in 4 months due to unstable vasospastic angina).
I experience chest pain at rest mainly between midnight and early morning. I can exercise.
The BHF website needs updating. I suggest you contact the BHF with your concerns.
heartvoices@bhf.org.uk
Here's some more recent research you may find interesting.
The Lancet women and cardiovascular disease Commission: reducing the global burden by 2030.
just the clearly argued response i would expect from you - thank you for taking the time to do this
to your list of references I would add Caroline Criado-Perez's book "Invisible Women" about the gender-based biases in science which affect our health and day-to-day lives
I have had Peripheral Atrial Fibrillation since late 40’s. I had blood pressure problems, dizziness and it was dismissed. Then 50ish, diagnosed wrongly it now come to light with Supraventricular Tachycardia, it was Peripheral Atrial fibrillation! Just had an ablation after years of medication instead of an ablation 🤯 Works more effectively if done asap. Early days as not stopped the black box pills yet!
The medical professionals need to LISTE to the patient and pay attention
In this day and age , women are still being accused of having anxiety, mental instability, whining you name it! I won’t take any rubbish and will challenge
12/21 the consultant in local hospital and his cohorts were trying to force me to have MESH in my groin for femoral hernia. I was seriously brow beaten! Both daughter and some have Science degrees, master etc, daughter was researching it and phoning telling me not to let them do it! Did win but nearly gave in
Just reading this and yes! for weeks before my heart attack i thought i was putting on weight as my bra felt tight! When i left hospital afterwards it felt completely fine🙈
I spoke to my gp twice who told me I had acid reflux. Second time I told him I was on the floor at times with the pain...still acid reflux. Day before heart attack pain in right shoulder when walking and burning in my throat. Then came party time next morning when i felt nauseus,sweating,bright red face and an elephant sitting on my chest
I'm so so glad you got believed in the end and was treated accordingly. But we shouldn't have to be knocking on deaths door to be listened to. Take care
Take one day at a time , and remember that your wife will want you to have a smile , make a memory or laugh every day for both you . Take care and remember we are here if you ever need to talk , hugs , Bee
Sorry to hear of your heart attack and confusion with the paramedics.
I’m 57 years old fit, golfer and never ever smoker. I had a heart attack in October last on holiday in Portugal and had a stent fitted there. I’ve been doing well until 10 Feb 24. I started with chest pains which just came in the night. I had 3x visits to A&E until they kept me in last Friday for monitoring. All but two of my episodes were in the early hours of the morning and one in A&E on Friday morning.
I was told on Sat by the consultant that it could be gastric spasms but I told them I know heart pain having had a heart attack and I’ve had a burst gastric ulcer in May 22 so I know the difference. I mentioned my family history (Mum had a triple bypass at my age).
I believe I only had an angiogram given as I didn’t have my stent done in the UK. The angiogram revealed Coronary Artery Spasm angina. I now know what I’m dealing with but I was afraid they’d discharge me and send me to gastroenterology.
The blood tests and ECGs don’t always reveal what’s really going on, which is frustrating. I’m so glad to get my diagnosis.
I have lived with vasospastic angina, the term now more commonly used to describe coronary vasospasms for over 11 years.
My coronary vasospasms were confirmed by an angiogram using acetylcholine, when I had spontaneous and acetylcholine induced coronary vasospasms.
I am in hospital at the moment as my unruly coronary vasospasms are being brought under control with IV GTN.
I am glad to read your coronary vasospasms are being well managed on Diltiazem.
I am now on 360mgs Diltiazem twice a day along with nicorandil 30mgs twice a day, GTN patches and isosorbide mononitrate 120mgs a day.
Statin and clopidogrel.
Are you being monitored by a Cardiologist.
Vasospastic angina is not a harmless condition.
Are you aware of this website created by four patients with over 50 years combined experience of living with microvascular dysfunction or coronary vasospasms.
I know this is about womens symptoms but i recently had a cardiac nurse try tell me that my pains were due to anxiety. Ive suffered with anxiety for years now so i know the difference between anxiety symptoms, muscle pains and something going on with my heart.
It annoyed me because she asked me how i was but then proceeded to try in effect tell me how i was feeling. I had to point out that i know how i feel and i know the differences and she cant possibly know how or what im feeling.
I felt i had to fight her to make sure i got a stress test scan.
Unfortunately, with a long term illness you will find this happen all the time , and using Anxiety or Patient Blaming is the most common way professionals with prejudged ideas about your condition will try to brush you off. It happens no matter which gender , age, ethnicity, body size or lifestyle you have too.It's like the health service equivalent of , " The Computer says , "No!" ".
Basically , they've read a booklet or standard treatment guide , or it's more common that patients are better with a certain " one size fits all" treatment so if you still don't feel better it can't be because your illness isn't being managed , it must be You.
What many professionals don't realise is that hearts , bodies and chronic illnesses don't read pamphlets and treatment timetables or drug descriptions, and even if they did they wouldn't take any notice of what it says.
Some will even seem to make a down right effort to prove medical science wrong!
Probably the most frustrating thing to have to negotiate as a patient with chronic illnesses and learning how to get what you need, get something written in your notes and get listened to whilst staying polite , emotionless and firm becomes an art form in itself.
Exactly right. If they know you suffer from another ailment then that's the way they go which is wrong. Like you said YOU know the difference and that should be enough to tell them that something is wrong and not just fob you off. Did you have your stress test done?
I haven't had it done yet im going to rehab class tomorrow and ill chase it up. Ive asked work occy health if i coukd maybe get it done privately through our scheme to get it done quicker. Its weird the doctor or nurse assuming its something else and railroading you when that could lead to misdiagnosis on their part and being held responsible for someone dying or allowing their health to deteriorate.
They put me on Nicorandil before diagnosis and it gave me monster headaches. Since diagnosis I’ve been given Dialiazem Hydrochloride 60mg x3 So far I’ve not had any more episodes or headaches 😀
Hello Speedbuggy. You ask about a woman's symptoms of heart attack, so here are mine, for what they're worth. I had been gardening/landscaping the day before, when a sudden chest pain stopped me short. It eased off to leave me with just my usual, 'normal', back etc. pain. This may or not be connected with the ticker hiccup later, as I was heavy-lifting at the time and may have just pulled something. (There's much to be said for stubbornness, or maybe not 🤔.)
Next day, gardening and such, I had moderate pain between the shoulders, in my neck, through my jaw, and I felt pretty ragged, fatigued and breathless. Eventually and annoyingly, I had to stop work for want of strength🤣. Two or three hours later, I rang 111, as I was suffering badly from anxiety (another norm), and this was on top of the earlier and worsening symptoms. There was a wonderful local response and a blue-light two hours later (rural living), so I was lucky. And now, here I am 🙃.
So do women exhibit symptoms differently from men? Do they explain symptoms differently, or feel pain differently? Do women ignore warning signs?
Regarding the latter, the following is part of an earlier response of mine to a different post:
"walks had become a trial after short distances due to breathlessness. (I had) painful, heavy legs, a sense of walking through treacle as I slowly struggled home after a rest. (I had) general weakness and fatigue. Chest-wise, there was just an ache. As a smoker and as I had and continue to have back problems, I put the issue down to that"
I don't know if these were symptoms of ticker trouble even now. My heart attack occurred more than a year after they started.
Your post raises serious and interesting issues, Speedbuggy. Sorry for such a long-winded response!
You are the exact kind of lady I was hoping to hear from and ignoring out symptoms is soooo.. right. A few weeks before my heart attack I put some viniger on my fish and chips and felt awful, then a couple of weeks before my heart attack I ate a single pickled onion and I had to go sit down for 10 mins because I felt faint. I therefore thought my body didn't like viniger. I didn't know what was wrong but because I'd been told for nearly 2 years I had acid reflux I thought it was that. It wasn't. It was my heart. Now I've had the heart attack and a pacemaker I don't get acid reflux at all...I believe I've had heart problems for years but I've been fobbed off by my gp and consultants for years saying it was acid reflux.
Wow, I didn't know about this and it rings true for me too! I was fist diagnosed with acid reflux by a male GP, then when I went to A&E the male doctor said it was possibly anxiety which I knew was downright rubbish...my symptoms were so blindingly obvious aa to what it was...even the chest x-ray showed I had an enlarged heart! I ended up in A&E a 2nd time when my symptoms were by this time at a critical point when they finally saw that I had severe heart failure and because they'd ignored me for so long, my EF was now at a worryingly 10%!!! Ibnow have an ICD fitted and am on the highest strength heart meds for life. I dread to think how things could have ended up if they’d ignored me for a moment longer 😢
Hi pouchielou that's absolutely the kind of things that should not be happening at a gp surgery. I'm so glad you ended up getting treated. I too ended up with a pacemaker. Wishing you all the best.
luckily I escaped havingHA , but after a few days of left arm aching and feeling sick on exertion , I was referred to cardiology and angiogram showed more than 95% blockage to my rca , so fitted with stent , always my arm ached more than my chest ,
No , they originally said I did have HA as my troponin level was so high , then when they repeated it they said no I hadn’t ? strongly expected angina , but thought it may be the small vessels surrounding the heart rather than artery blockage
If your from the UK then I'm sure you will hear from someone - a dedicated nurse assigned to you that you can call if you are worried about anything? (although I somewhat felt left in the dark after my procedure). You should be offered the opportunity to go to cardiac rehabilitation asap and have a chat with a psychologist - although that is months down the line
Hi. Newbie to this. I had a stemi heart attack on January 19th. I was awoken at 4am by awful jaw ache/pressure and left arm ache, very little chest pain, just discomfort, which actually mimics the symptoms my son has with a hiatus hernia. I waited 2 hours for an ambulance and then blue lighted to coronary care where a team were waiting for me. I had balloon angioplasty. Waiting for my cardio rehab appointment on Monday.
Hi. A few days before my heart attack I had mild symptoms of discomfort that felt like indigestion and some jaw pain but it went off after a few minutes so I didn't think too much of it. I was very lucky to survive, still trying to deal with the emotional side of things and getting used to the medication. I'm sure I'm not alone in being surprised at the symptoms of a heart attack and that its not always crushing chest pain. Xxx
You are so right. You will get used to all the medications, just make sure you have some weekly pill boxes and alarms set on your mobile phone as a reminder. Wishing you all the best
My brother had HA 5 years ago , and he didn’t get any aching in his arm like I did , just sweating and chest pain . So everyone Definately present with different symptoms. Hope your feeling better now
Well I had many different symptoms and I would say they were inflammatory in different parts of my body . My shoulders ,my back and my knees and eventually my chest. I had lots of tests but all came back normal. It was only when I had my last test that a very astute cardio nurse spotted something unusual in my ecg and did a second one to make sure . Fast forward to a triple heart bypass and I don’t have to go for expensive physio sessions because those symptoms have gone. Even when I was playing tennis and I had chest discomfort it disappeared after the first set. Yes heart disease for women is different in some cases and it certainly was with me . I would say if you have unusual pains that won’t go away -especially in your back and shoulders insist on further tests
Hello there I can identify with all these posts. I had a heart attack and triple bypass over 2 years ago now during covid. I went to the gp (only made it as far as practice nurse) with breathlessness and high BP. She wasn't too worried as I didn't 'fit the profile'. However she did refer me to as cardiologist who concluded all was within a normal range. Final sentence of his report was 'I fail to understand this lady's perception of breathlessness.' A week later had the heart attack. Having said all that I acknowledge many men go incorrectly diagnosed too
I had chest pain, luckily I was at a meeting and not alone, unconscious, stopped breathing, ambulance crew did CPR. Ignored on a trolley in A&E for 6 hours told go home, indigestion. Later had massive heart attack, 5% percent chance of survival. I am a woman. I now have to pay to see a Cardiologist, NHS is not fit for purpose.
Thanks for your concern. I haven’t seen my Gp face to face for 3 years. I am now 76, if I had to wait for the NHS appointments I’d be long gone. For example, I can see my Cardiologist within a week, I had a full ECG within 10 days. No contest.
You do right, but it shouldnt have got to a stage where you had to go private to be treated correctly. I do hope you complained about the service you received from A&E. I do wish you well
this information isn’t new. There’s a lot of information and research out there now about how women are more likely to die from a heart attack than men due to issues with diagnoses. It’s the doctors who need educating. Research used by the NHS often uses more men in its sample than women so it’s biased towards men from the beginning. Only recently and only sometimes have they begun to include more women in their sample. When reading research look at the sample size and then the mix of males and females.
I agree with your comments. I had low blood pressure and racing heart rate. No pain or discomfort, no shortness of breath. Dr asked me "what did I want her to do about low blood pressure, you've recently had your 60th health check and you flew through that". 2 weeks later I was in A&E being told that I was in hear failure and must have had a few heart attacks in the past! Women must not allow themselves to be brushed off, it could cost them their lives.
HiI was diagnosed over the phone by gp twice as having acid reflux in the four weeks before my heart attack even though i told him pains had me on the floor at times.
The morning i rang the ambulance they originally questioned a panic attack because i am on anti-anxiety meds before the portable ecg told them otherwise and i got the blue lights to the cath lab .
I'm not sure on that. We have to believe that if we are writing on this website that we are the lucky ones that survived such an awful event. Take care
Very true! I do consider myself very lucky indeed as it was a "widow maker" i had .
I read your post with interest because as a first aid trainer /assessor I have been educating others on the differing signs for years via my personal experience with casualties (was a Beach lifeguard when younger)
This came in very helpful when in August 21 I experienced a HA myself. No indication showed on any ECG leading paramedics to say it was a non event, all my other vital signs were good.
I didn’t accept it and said J know J have had a heart attack to which they said the only way to confirm this is an in hospital blood test. And a few hours later it was agreed I had suffered a heart attack by the high troponin in my blood.
However ALL the tests they did over the next six days except the blood test showed my heart to be healthy with good flow and no blockages or narrowing of arteries, no cholesterol or damage to the heart. I didn’t have any risk factors and my case has completely stumped my cardiologist and his colleagues
Only a few months earlier I was told I had less than 5% risk of heart attack or stroke!
My advice as a woman is to stick up for yourself if it doesn’t feel right it most likely isn’t right if you think a medic is not reflecting your level of concern restate it again until they do. Easier said than done in some cases I know
By the way my symptom were not listed anywhere but my deduction lead me to believe I was having circulatory issues which was then followed by symptoms of shock which I could only fathom as cardiogenic shock ruling out all the others.
My known types of shock through training;
Cardiogenic shock (due to heart problems)
Hypovolemic shock (caused by too little blood volume)
Anaphylactic shock (caused by allergic reaction)
Septic shock (due to infections)
My understanding of the body saved me in terms of being dismissed.
Now whether being on pills for a year and a half before reducing down to just a small dose aspirin was necessary I will never know but I am on the radar. and although the diagnosis has drastically changed my life, I can no longer do the job I loved, I am very happy I still have a life.
The reason of posting is that from the many symptoms we can present with there are many other explanations and especially so if we are fit and healthy, don’t smoke or drink excessively so have little or no risk factors then of course GPs and Drs might misdiagnose and unfortunately where the heart is concerned this can have fatal and devastating results.
What we all can do as women is spread our story our symptoms with the hope we can help another woman recognise what may be almost invisible heart attacks to the GPs and Drs.
I just had a constriction starting in my wrists, then elbows then armpits. I took off my cardigan thinking it must have shrank in the wash. Realising I still had feelings after it was removed I went to tell hubby working in another room something was wrong and then I felt like I was in shock with the normal signs/symptoms - went pale, cold clammy skin, shallow breathing, perspiration, nauseous and felt like I needed to relieve myself. (It was the body removing everything it didn’t want). I then lay on the bed by hubby working feeling very week and after a while I had a feeling of a broom handle poking in my right shoulder and then my right breast felt like it was having contractions. I asked him to call the ambulance as I was having a heart attack. The pain increased over time and lasted about 1 hour 15 minutes (coincidentally the time it took the ambulance to arrive). So very lucky I didn’t go into cardiac arrest as they were the only ambulance available and had a long journey to get to me. The pain subsided as the paramedics walked through the house. Heart rate breathing skin all back to normal just I felt cold and had a big blanket on me they immediately suspected I would have a temperature and potentially have sepsis but agreed my temperature was lower than normal. I told them I’d had a heart attack but they said they didn’t think so as ECG showed nothing. The fact any pain was on the right side threw them, the lack of any damage evident in terms of my vital statistics etc led to believe it was a non event. But I refused to accept that hence being taken to hospital where the HA was shown to have happened.
No signs before that day no signs after that day, no intervention other than pills I have since been advised to stop except aspirin.
Thank you for the information. Right sided symptoms can happen too. Just keep an eye out for any new symptoms and go to A&E if you are worried. Take care, wishing you all the best
Yes absolutely they can as they did with me, but what happened to me must be quite rare as I had about 8 cardiologists come to check me over and question me along with various trainees over my six days in hospital. I didnt mind at all as the more differing presentations the more they expand their thinking. As you can read I can be quite assertive where my health is involved and also very successful in getting face to face appontments when needed so I feel well cared for by our NHS. Thank you for your interest, we all need to share our stories to inform future care.
Wish you all the best in your recovery from your heart attack.
I've had 7 different cardiologists over the past 7 months and every one of them has told me that women with heart issues present weirdly, in comparison to men. That's not including all the hospital doctors and GP's that have said the same thing to me. They all said my symptoms are atypical.
Saying that, I've also been able to tick every box on the diagnosis bingo card. Anxiety, gastro, is the pain even that bad, peri-menopause, etc etc. A heart attack and two stents later...
Anyway.
It's confusing & disappointing that BHF contradicts itself on this issue. It's an issue that's vitally important for women's survival, as well as our quality of life.
Thanks for raising it and for emailing asking them to clarify. I look forward to their response.
I agree with all you have said. It's just occurred to me that if hospital doctors seem to know that women present differently then it's GP's and paramedics that need re-educating. So glad you are sorted out now. Wishing you all the best
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Many years ago my late Mother-in-Law had pain across both breasts and she had in fact suffered a mild heart attack. Luckily she was treated and lived well into her 80's so I think [myself included] that we are definitely not what I call 'text book' cases and perhaps they that have the most knowledge should be starting to 'think outside of the box' when it comes to us women and our symptoms.
I had severe pain in the top of my back and paramedics said it wasn't a heart attack until they hooked me up to have an ECG and then blue lighted to hospital for immediate stent. Before that I had another heart attack during lockdown which gave me heart damage because the two female ambulance staff wouldn't take me to hospital because they didn't believe I was an urgent case!!
i have not read the other responses yet so i might be repeating what others said
in the "Read more about the myth of ‘female’ heart attack symptoms" article they said that the study used one nurse to interview patients and record their responses - so they were almost guaranteed to get completely different results to a study involving a number of different medics asking different questions, in a different order and recording the results - they have biased their results from the start
some of the many the problems they have not addressed in their study design are that:
people experience and express "symptoms" in different ways - e.g what is pain to one person is pressure to another and agon to a third
different people emphasise the symptoms which are most important or noticeable to them
medics ask different questions - there is no set script
medics interpret people's answers through their own unrecognised biases/filters/assumptions
......and that is just for starters
this study has grossly oversimplified a very complex issue and the BHFshould be ashamed of publishing it in this way
I totally agree with you. What I've noticed is paramedics ask what medication your on then connect your symptoms to the meds and don't really listen to what the person is experiencing and we know our bodies the best. Thanks for your input
I Only had 3 days of horrific indigestion then a very slight tingling in my arm and neck. It was only when the tingling started that I rang 999. The paramedics were brilliant and sus pected a HA from teh ECG but on reaching A&E a nurse triaged me and obviously thought there was nothing wrong. I wasn't grey or sweating and had no chest pain. She offered me an aspirin but didn't insist then I was left for 5 hours alone on a corridor which was locked. I went in at 10pm but it was only when the day shift came on that I was able to ask someone to get me to the loo. ( I'm disabled and had no wheelchair or scooter). An hour or so later a blood test was done but it was noon before I was told it was a heart attack. I was given a bed at 2pm. From then on the treatment was superb but A&E was horrific.
EDIT. I'd been complaining to my GP about breathlessness for months. GP insisted it was muscular because I have spinal problems; but the ONLY person who asked about family history was a young doctor in Urgent care when the breathlessness scared me.He did an x ray but he also advised a stress test but before it could be arranged I had the HA.
That's such a traumatic event you had to go through but I'm so happy you got the right treatment in the end. Such confusion over different opinions from your gp, paramedic, nurse! Wishing you all the best
Yes they were brilliant once I was admitted but A&E was a disgrace. It's 5 years ago now but I will never trust A&E again. When I was taken in again last year with a very erratic heartbeat, it was 5 hours before I was triaged and I was stuck on a hard chair for 14 hours with people coughing, vomiting, crying and moaning. NO one went near most of them. The staff looked dead on their feet. At the same time there were dozens of people who should never have even gone to A&E.
That's the problem we have now. People can't get a gp appointment quick enough so resort to using A&E when there is out of hours GP's, 111 and walk in centres that are usually open until 10 pm. Genuine people that should use A&E find themselves waiting upto 24 hrs to be treated. Its such a bad situation but genuine people should still go to A&E even women who suspect a heart attack
Heart attack, I had pain in my chest but not like clutching chest pain like you see on the TV. I wasn’t clammy and wasn’t sweating. I had been sent to A&E the week before with chest pain but got sent home and made to feel like I had wasted their time, even when I called an ambulance they didn’t send one and I had to wait to be triaged. I had my heart attack at 2:30 in the afternoon and dudbt get to hospital till 5:30 then left and finally diagnosed at 9:30 that night.
Twice as many women due of heart attack than breast cancer yet we all know the signs of breast cancer but are very unaware about our heart health and the effects of the menopause on are heart health.
Yes they did. I had had an ecg at my docs that afternoon and it showed an issue. A&E said there was nothing wrong, my evental HA happened in the area that the ecg had shown. I told them thst as soon as I walked I git chest pain going up into my jaw. They just sent me home and had no referral to chest pain clinic, by the next week I could bearly walk anywhere.
Did you lodge a complaint? I did although they basically said I was lying or my memory was wrong. I think it's still worthwhile even if it only shows them people are not happy.
I had a MINOCA (myocardial infarction in non-obstructed coronary arteries) in Jan 2022. I did not have all of the typical or conventional symptoms men do.
I had a sudden urge to go the toilet after getting the onset of abdominal pain. I then got a squeezing, gripping pain right in the centre of my chest which went straight to my jaw and right hand side of chest and arm. I believe men typically feel it on the left side. I remember vomiting a couple of times, and becoming sweaty. I knew I was having a heart attack and I looked at my friend and told her the same thing.
Once the ambulance arrived, my ECG and BP was normal. I told them that the pain was mainly right sided which I think puzzled them a little bit. However, they were great and gave me aspirin and blue lighted me into hospital. The emergency doctor thought it maybe indigestion but this was nothing like my normal indigestion. Once the Troponin came back elevated, they confirmed the heart attack.
Now that I have been diagnosed with Vasospastic and microvascular angina, I still feel some of my worst spasms in the right hand side of my chest. This seems to be a common pattern with my angina. That’s not to say I don’t feel it in the left side, I do, but I feel it more profoundly in the right hand side and that has never seemed to go away.
Therefore I agree, there is a difference in how men experience cardiac related symptoms and how women experience them.
I had angina for 1.5 years before the heart attack but it went undiagnosed. It was often brushed off as anxiety, pleuritic chest pain, or long c*vid.
I hope the care and diagnoses for women with cardiac issues improves in the near future.
Thank you for taking the time to talk of your experience. I'm so happy you got sorted in the end. But, why is it STILL baffling Medical professionals that symptoms can be on the right? Things do need to change for the sake of all those who have died unneedlessly. Please take care
I totally agree. My heart symptoms when my heart is under strain or when I suffered a 'supply and demand' heart attack were different from the norm getting pain in the neck and jaw with a tight chest and extreme dizziness and breathlessness. My treatment in hospital was slower than I expected until the first troponin test result came back and then I got a lot of attention.
I also sometimes suffered the need to urinate frequently and diarrhea.
More needs to be done. Some male Dr's seem to still think women are neurotic or exaggerating pain (more often the other way around in my experience in relation to ill health - man flu anyone) this isnt good enough in this day and age. I've been misdiagnosed a number of times with broken bones and chest infections because I'm obviously not screaming in pain and crying my eyes out which I guess some Dr's expect.
My journey started 13yrs ago. Chest pains which I ignored because I was busy moving while my husband in hospital. Paramedics said definitely not heart because no family history, even hospital allowed me to wander around for the 6hrs for blood test. Registrar kept me in hospital for a week before angiogram, she had treated my husband, we nearly lost him, septicemia. They say she saved my life, nearly 100 percent blockage, 2 stents needed. I've had another 3 stents over the years, last one on LAD with blockage that needed ballooning before stent could be done. That angiogram was scheduled because I pushed for it, my cardiologist was very reluctant that it was needed. Here in regional Australia we have to go private to see cardiologist, even then 6-8 month wait, or hospital, who try to explain my symptoms away. I don't get strong symptoms with heart attack, 3 so far, good cholesterol, always around 3. I just continue to clot. Nothing ever shows up on ECG. My biggest problem is stress, and with caring for sick husband, there is stress. We both have multiple health issues as well. I probably was fortunate that the Registrar was female and had enough authority. At the moment, I cancelled my yearly appointment with cardiologist because he doesn't listen to me. I would be very reluctant to go to the hospital with chest pain. I know that I have no choice but...Anyway, I hope that things will change but I doubt it. Take care. Moni
Thank you moniren for talking about your experience. It sounds like things are no different in Australia. I'm really glad you got sorted out and I agree things need to change. Wishing you all the best. Try and get some help for your stress though. Take care
hi, I had a heart attack 13 days ago. I thought the BHF website to be confusing and contradictory too. The lady that I rang there did give me some useful advice and directed me to a different website. You’d think that they would be the go to place for info wouldn’t you. Trouble is, research, along with everything else is mostly male orientated. BHF also test on animals, which is flawed science.
This is a huge learning curve and an eye opener. I hope you are better now x
Thanks Speedbuggy, I don’t know if they were unusual. I was fine in the morning. Went for a swim! Then about 5pm I felt really hot, like very sweaty and lightheaded. Then I couldn’t breathe. Had a really floppy left arm. It lasted about 40 minutes! Xx
Thanks for the information. I'm so happy you got sorted out. Wishing you all the best on your road to recovery. Please make sure you do the rehabilitation when it's offered to you and get yourself some pill boxes
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
a post for someone from BHF really. 
👋 Social Check-in 5th July
