Newswise — While most people know that heart disease and heart attacks are the number one killer of both men and women in America, many don't know how to recognize the signs of a heart attack. Beyond that, many are unaware that the symptoms in a woman can be quite different from those in a man. Prediman K. Shah, M.D. Director of the Division of Cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, offers the following tips for recognizing a heart attack.
CLASSIC SYMPTOMS — May appear in men and women1. Squeezing chest pain or pressure2. Shortness of breath3. Sweating4. Tightness in chest5. Pain spreading to shoulders, neck or arm or jaw6. Feeling of heartburn or indigestion with or without nausea and vomiting7. Sudden dizziness or brief loss of consciousness
MORE LIKELY SYMPTOMS IN WOMEN1. Indigestion or gas-like pain2. Dizziness, nausea or vomiting3. Unexplained weakness or fatigue4. Discomfort or pain between the shoulder blades5. Recurring chest discomfort6. Sense of impending doom
If you are experiencing symptoms that could be signaling a heart attack or if you see someone else with these symptoms, call 9-1-1 immediately and summon an ambulance. Do not attempt to drive yourself as only paramedics and trained fire department personnel have the necessary equipment to revive you if your heart has stopped beating. Give the patient one aspirin to chew, and if she or he is not breathing, start CPR. Above all, get to the hospital as quickly as possible because the longer a heart attack goes untreated, the more badly damaged your heart will be.
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