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Moving fast when you’re having a heart attack could save
your life. But in order to do so, you
have to know you’re having one – you must know the symptoms. Not enough people do, so here they are:
Women tend to experience some of the less well known
symptoms, such as unusual fatigue, lightheadedness or nausea. It’s important for women to know this so that
they can identify a heart attack when they’re having one. The classic symptoms, like chest pain or a
pain in the left arm or the jaw are often not experienced by women, but their
heart attack can be just as severe as men’s, regardless. Heart attacks are the
most common cause of death among women in the U.S. In 2004 (the latest statistical year), 82,900
men and 73,900 women died of heart attack.
 A study of 3522 patients who had suffered a heart attack or
undergone treatment for severe coronary artery disease determined that almost
half did not know the symptoms of a heart attack, or even thought themselves to
be at increased risk.
It’s simple. If you
have heart disease, you are at risk for a heart attack. You must know the symptoms and call 911
immediately if you experience them.
Don’t delay: the sooner blood flow to your heart muscle is restored, the
better your chance of recovering both length and quality of life. Do not wait to make sure. If you think you have a symptom, act on it
right away as though you’re certain. It
could save your life. And, if you have
had a heart attack or have undergone recent angioplasty or bypass surgery, you
are more likely to have a fatal or nonfatal heart attack within five years than
someone your age without heart disease.
Public campaigns seek to shorten delays from symptom
recognition to emergency room arrival.
The American Heart Association’s (AHA) Red Dress Campaign (www.goredforwomen.org) reminds women
that heart disease is their number-one killer, and is a key source of
information for women and men alike. The
AHA’s Mission Lifeline campaign focuses on systems of care to reduce the time
from 911 to hospital arrival, with patients urged to call 911 within five
minutes of symptom onset.
On the horizon: A
rapid blood test that can be used to diagnose a pending heart attack and enable
lifesaving treatment to be administered beforehand. Biochemists at Johns Hopkins have discovered
that the combination of five key proteins provides a better early warning that
a heart attack is about to occur than any test available to date. This discovery opens the way for the
development of a prognosticating blood test sometime, hopefully, in the near
future.
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