Not your typical heart attack
Women's symptoms are often labeled atypical because they differ from the classic symptoms traditionally found in men. What’s more: the signs of heart attacks in women can be far more subtle than the chest-clutching doctors call the “Hollywood heart attack.” Some symptoms can appear many months ahead of the heart attack itself, making them easy to dismiss. Women themselves don’t always connect their back pain or fatigue to heart disease or a heart attack because those symptoms are mismatched with the stereotype of someone in cardiac distress.
Know the early and immediate symptoms of heart attack in women. See a doctor if you experience any of these early symptoms of heart attack.
Early symptoms of heart attack
Some women live with the signs of a looming heart attack for as long as a year in advance. This is partly because many of the symptoms can easily be attributed to stress or busy lifestyles. Here are some of the early warning signs of a heart attack, according to how common they are among women who have heart attacks.
- Fatigue: A significant change in typical energy levels that lasts more than a few days.
- Sleep difficulties: Sleep disturbance has been reported prior to a cardiac event more frequently in women.
- Shortness of breath: Becoming winded doing the most basic activities, but especially during exercise.
- Indigestion: Feeling uncomfortably full soon after eating, sometimes with pain or burning in the upper abdomen.
- Chest discomfort: It may be mild discomfort or seem like indigestion.
- Anxiety: Feeling nervous or apprehensive for no apparent reason, or more than usual.
Immediate symptoms of heart attack
In addition to the early warning signs above, here are some of the symptoms women most commonly report experiencing immediately before a heart attack.
- Chest pain: While men having a heart attack often report a crushing or stabbing pain in their chest, many women say they felt pressure, tightness or aching in their chest or back.
- Extreme fatigue: More than feeling tired, this overwhelming fatigue makes it hard to do anything.
- Breathing difficulties: It’s suddenly a struggle to take a full breath.
- Radiating pain: Pain spreads across the jaw, arm, shoulder or radiating across the back.
- Cold sweat: Suddenly sweating even though your skin is cool. Some women also report feeling flushed or going red in the face. Cold sweats are less common.
- Nausea: Feeling queasy for no apparent reason. May be accompanied by vomiting.
- Dizziness: Feeling lightheaded or sudden dizziness.
- Flu-like symptoms: Many of the symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, chills and tiredness can be mistaken for the flu. Cough, sore throat and a runny nose are signs of the flu that are not typical signs of a heart attack.