Signs Of A Heart Attack
We’ve all seen the TV show or movie where a man suddenly clutches his chest, gasps, and falls to the ground. To which we later learn he has had a heart attack. Why am I bringing this up!? Honestly, for several reasons. The biggest being that I want to bring awareness to how differently a heart attack can present itself in men versus women, with heart health being a major factor for lupus patients.
SLE, women and heart disease
Before we start talking about the signs and symptoms of heart attacks let me give you a couple facts that may surprise you. Nearly 45 percent of women ages 20 and over are living with some form of cardiovascular disease. It is in fact the NUMBER ONE killer of women.1
Like just about every other system in the body, the cardiovascular system can be impacted by lupus, this includes your heart and blood vessels. “In fact, cardiovascular disease, not lupus itself, is the number one cause of death in people with SLE”.2
I share that because often women don’t think they have to worry about heart disease, or having a heart attack as much as men. But that is just not the case.
We are clearly very impacted by heart disease. So I feel we need to do all we can to be educated, and share said education. Because the only way we can know what to expect is to know what to expect.
Heart attack signs
When we think of the signs of heart attack and the way they most commonly present in men, what do we think of?:
- Crushing chest pain
- Pain radiating to the left neck, jaw, shoulder and arm
- Nausea and vomiting
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness/lightheadedness
- Clammy, cold sweat
- Feeling of impending doom
- Indigestion
For women we may or may not have the classic signs noted above. We may also have non-chest pain symptoms during a heart attack. During my time as a cardiac RN I saw lots of men and women presenting with chest pain. As well as many after their open heart surgery post-heart attack. It would honestly amaze you at some of the symptoms women had. Several women said they were just super, extra tired.
Woman may have one of these or any combination of the following:
- A feeling of pressure or fullness in the chest that may come and go, or last for a while
- Pain in one or both arm, back, or neck
- Extreme fatigue
- Cold sweat
- Nausea
- Lightheadedness
- Also may feel like you’re having indigestion
One example I’ll never forget was a woman just initially felt like her bra was too tight and it needed to come off. Several said they just felt “off,” they couldn’t really pinpoint any one thing. But they didn’t feel good.
Seeking medical attention
Like with anything else, if you think you are having heart issues; whether it be the symptoms we’ve talked about here today or it be a super fast heart rate, a super slow rate; please SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY.
Your heart is not something to mess around with.
The American Heart Association says that if you think you may be having a heart attack and symptoms have lasted longer than five minutes (the longer you way the harder to treat the heart attack becomes):3
Dial 911 and follow the operator’s instructions Let the 911 operator know your address. Say, “I think I’m having a heart attack.” Don’t hang up the phone. Follow any instructions given by the 911 operator.
They may ask you to take an aspirin or nitroglycerin if you have it. Try to stay as calm as possible and take deep, slow breaths while you wait for the emergency responders.Unlock the door. Lay on the floor where emergency responder workers can see you.
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