How to Identify Heart Attack Symptoms in Women

The definition of a heart attack is when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood through a coronary artery, which is a blood vessel that feeds blood to the heart muscle. The heart can be damaged and even destroyed when this blockage occurs. Many people do not realize that heart attack symptoms in women are many times quite a bit different than in men. Therefore, it is important to understand the symptoms of a heart attack specific to the female gender.

The symptom most people think of in regards to a heart attack is a tight, squeezing chest pain. However, many women that suffered a heart attack stated afterward they never felt any chest pain at all. Therefore, it is important to recognize potential heart attack symptoms in women:

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• Fatigue that is uncommon
• Lower chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Symptoms that normally would indicate indigestion
• Upper abdominal pain
• Upper back pain
• Weakness

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Since many of these symptoms could easily be attributed to something else since none of them are 100% specifically related to a heart attack it is easy to assume a different diagnosis. For example, shortness of breath could easily be attributed to asthma or a lack of physical stamina. Women that experience lower chest pain could mistake that symptom for gall bladder issues or acid reflux.

This presents a problem when dealing with physicians at an office and doctors at a hospital. Physically active women will encounter difficulty when being diagnosed since exhibiting any of these symptoms does not necessarily indicate a heart attack. In either situation if you feel strongly that the symptoms you are feeling could be heart related you have every right to request that heart related testing be done. You may not be the doctor but this is your body. It is better to be safe than sorry!

Any woman that is experiencing the aforementioned heart attack symptoms in women are strongly advised to immediately seek medical attention. Since women can exhibit symptoms that are more commonly associated with much less severe problems it can be easy to ignore those symptoms as potentially life threatening issues. Pay attention to your body and stay in close contact with your physician at all times.