When it comes to heart attacks, there is a saying “time is muscle.” The phrase was coined by cardiologists years ago to stress the need for getting help immediately during a heart attack. The longer it takes to get treatment, the more damage the heart muscle sustains.
But what if you don’t realize you’re having a heart attack?
Changing Perception of Women and Heart Attacks
For many years, heart disease had been thought to be primarily a man’s disease. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women specifically had been historically understudied.1
Movies and TV helped create this false perception in portraying a heart attack as a sudden, intense event — where always a man would clutch his chest and collapse to the ground.2
However, since 1993 when it became federal law that women be included in medical research and clinical studies, research specific to women and cardiac disease have increasingly been providing deeper insights on how heart disease, heart failure and heart attacks manifest differently in females.3
Common Heart Attack Symptoms in Women
According to Dr. Kathleen Heintz, clinical cardiologist at Cooper and Inspira Cardiac Care, “The most common symptom in women is still chest pressure. However, women also have some symptoms that are different than men.
“You may have a little bit more in terms of indigestion, some abdominal pressure,” says Dr. Heintz. “You may have more radiation to the back. These are symptoms that are more common in women at the time of a heart attack.”
As for the time frame, while some heart attacks do come on suddenly, others can start slowly, with only a little pain or chest discomfort in women. Pay attention to these feelings — don’t brush them off.
Women present differently than men and often have more symptoms. They may have GI discomfort, chest pains, or persistent pain that goes to their back. So often times, a heart attack might get missed.
Clinical Cardiologist
Thomas Moccia, DO, FACC, a clinical cardiologist at Cooper and Inspira Cardiac Care, emphasizes, “It’s scary when you start getting these symptoms, and it’s a lot easier if you can attribute them to heartburn or just being tired.
“But it’s very important that if you start feeling symptoms, particularly new symptoms that you haven’t experienced before, that you get those checked out. I always tell patients it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you come in and your symptoms were from something else, then no big deal.”
Don’t Wait — Time Is Muscle
Biggest takeaway for women? Don’t ignore subtle feelings like nausea or chest pain. Listen to that voice inside — it might just be your heart.
Schedule an Appointment Today.
References
- AHA Journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, Vol6, Issue 1, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.112.970202[↩]
- AHA. Heart Attack Symptoms in Women, Dec2022. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/warning-signs-of-a-heart-attack/heart-attack-symptoms-in-women[↩]
- HHS, Office on Women’s Health. Policy of inclusion of women in clinical trials. https://www.womenshealth.gov/30-achievements/04[↩]
