Recognizing Female Heart Attack Symptoms

Reported May 12, 2011

Ladies, it’s a myth that we can’t have a heart attack. Infact, nearly five times as many women—or 200,000 of us—die each year from a heart attack compared to breast cancer. It’s also a myth that heart attacks only happen to older women. Heart disease is a threat to all women, even those of us in our 30s and 40s. In fact, the rate of sudden cardiac death in young women under the age of 40 is increasing much faster than in men of the same age group. Why, you wonder? There are several theories, but the most alarming is that many doctors –and most of us women—still don’t recognize female heart attack symptoms.

“Chest pain is the typical heart attack sign, but many women—and doctors too—don’t realize that heart attack symptoms in women can and often do look very different than those of men,” explains Madalyn N. Davidoff, MD, cardiologist and member of the medical staff of Houston Healthcare.

Credits and more information:http://www.hhc.org/womansheartattack