Warning Signs of a Heart Attack in Women That Should Not Be Ignored

Chest pain is among the most typical warning signs of a heart attack in women as well as men. However, women are more likely to experience a heart attack with milder symptoms, making it harder to spot one unless they know what to look for.

In the US, heart disease is responsible for one in three fatalities. Despite the fact that heart disease is the number one killer of both sexes, there is a widespread misperception that males are more likely to experience heart issues than women.

Many people believe that older people—and older males in particular—are the only ones who are susceptible to heart attacks. However, a heart attack can strike at any age and in either sex if your heart condition is damaged.

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Women And Heart Attacks: Signs of a Heart Attack in Women

Many people believe that a heart attack's warning symptoms are sudden, like in a movie heart attack where the victim clutches his chest and collapses. For women, a true heart attack can look and feel very different.

Women under 40 are more prone to heart attack as per recent study. (Image via Unsplash/ Alexander Grey)

Compared to men, women are more prone to experience unusual heart attack symptoms. Additionally, women are more likely to experience silent heart attacks. These signs are an indication of what a heart attack feels like for women.

Here are some common signs of a heart attack in women to look out for:

1) Chest pain

Chest discomfort is one of the most typical signs of a heart attack in women and men. 90% of men and women having a heart attack have chest pain.

This discomfort and pain in the chest typically follow a stressful event, which could have been emotional or physical in nature, such as exercise. The pain normally lasts for several minutes, is severe, and develops gradually.

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2) Arm, back, neck, or jaw pain

Sometimes, arm, neck, jaw, or back pain can radiate or spread from the chest. Over the course of several minutes, the discomfort could steadily worsen.

These signs of a heart attack in women can be highly perplexing because the majority of people anticipate chest discomfort to accompany a heart attack. This is particularly true because it can be challenging to determine where the discomfort first began.

Women are more likely to experience silent heart attacks. (Image via Pexels/ Engin Akyurt)

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3) Difficulty in breathing

It may be a clue that your heart isn't functioning properly if you feel as though you've just raced a marathon after simply climbing a flight of stairs. Breathlessness is among the most common signs of a heart attack in women and can happen with or without chest discomfort.

Additionally, you can experience light-headedness or dizziness, and you might even pass out. Although both men and women might experience this, women are more likely to feel short of breath.

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4) Cold sweats

Among other common signs of a heart attack in women is sudden sweating along with chest pain. Along with experiencing some chest pain, you might also get cold sweats or feel clammy.

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5) Fatigue

You probably spend the majority of your time juggling your job and family, as many other women do. This naturally implies that you're fatigued a lot of the time, which is very normal. But cardiac fatigue is much more severe and incapacitating.

Other warning signs of a heart attack in women to look out for include excessive tiredness from routine tasks like changing the bed, going to the restroom or going shopping, as well as exhaustion or a "heavy" chest even when you aren't exerting yourself.

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Risk of Heart Attack in Women Under 40

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, taking the lives of one woman every single minute; even higher than ALL cancer-causing factors. This makes it extremely important not to ignore signs of a heart attack in women.

What's more alarming is that a recent study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session discovered that the annual incidence of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) has climbed over the past 20 years, especially among young women (between the ages of 34 and 55), whereas it has decreased among young males.