Comments on: Heart Attack in Women

By: Carol

Carol — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:48:29 +0000

I thought I was having a heart attack one night. I could not sleep all night due to this terrible chest discomfort- pain in the middle of my chest just below my breasts and it felt like it went all the way through to my back and had a sever pain bewtween my shoulder blades. I could not lay on my sides because it intensified. I got up about 4am because my husband had gotten up for work and I debated whether I should go to the hospital or not. I drank a 1/2 can of gingerale and it did relieve the discomfort after belching some but not completely. I had the pain between the shoulder blades for a few days before and for several after. I did not feel myself that day but blamed it on not being able to sleep. I went for my yearly physical a few weeks later and the Dr suggested I go for a gall bladder ultrasound first and if all came back normal then possible a stress test. My ekg was normal. I am healthy, normal weight, walk alot, ex smoker as of 2 years ago, cholesterol is great.

By: Theresa

Theresa — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:35:38 +0000

I had a hysterectomy on 10/20/2009 and three weeks to the day I had a heart attack. I thought that I was just having HOT FLASHES AND SWEATS. I drank a glass of ice cold water and the pain began right in my sternum. The pain felt like a brain freeze but in the center of my chest. I was slightly lightheaded but my chest just bothered me. Then my RIGHT ARM started with the pain, it radiated up the arm to the shoulder then to the back of the neck. I went to the ER in about an hour after the pain began. I found out that I was having a mild heart attack. Thank God for my son who is an EMT. He told me women are different from men and go to the ER (I was already out having a nice dinner) This was the best advice that I ever had. I had a stent put it and I am doing great!

By: vanessa

vanessa — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:49:05 +0000

i awoke one morning in march 2008, i didnt have any pain no sweating, no back pain no jaw pain not pain at all.just an uneasy feeling. an hour later i was vomiting and had diahrrea at the same time. some 5 hours late i went to the local hospital. Later I had angioplasty.100% blockage in the artery running along the bottom of myheart. According to the doctors it was from type 2 diabetes, that i didnt even know i had. so ladies your heart attack will not be like a mans. not even close.i didnt have a racing heart or swollen ankles. none of the classic signs for a woman. all ican say is KNOW your body, KNOW when something isnt right it WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE.

By: Glenda

Glenda — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:33:36 +0000

I am one of those women who suffered MANY “misdiagnosed” heart attacks at a young age. Finally, a massive heart attack at 42 brought awareness to ALL of the other emergency room visits where I was treated for indigestion, stress, gall bladder removal, and gall stones removal only to name a few of the surgeries trying to find out why I was having that intense pain (the most severe of anything I have ever felt) in the “center” to the “right” side of my chest, and severe pain in the middle of my stomach, vomiting, migraines, passing out, cold sweats, shaking of hands and weakness in the legs and racing of the heart. (Heart palpatations.) Grant it, I was always stressing about one thing or the other and nine chances out of ten, that’s what it was diagnosed as.

Yes, I do blame my doctors (not just one, many of them), because this began around the age of 25 or so and continued throughout until the age of 42. Although I had “abnormal EKG”s, they were echnored (because of my age.) One doctor suggested it was because of the pain that the EKG was spiking, which I know now can not happen!

While on vacation, I had one of the “attacks” and the only hospital we could find was the Heart, Chest and Trauma Center in Joplin, Mi. (and we were not aware that this is what it was.)

After arguing with doctors that there was nothing wrong with my heart I agreed to have a stent placed (after some shouting, from fear, I might add). I awoke in the Intensive Care Unit with my doctor asking me if I was aware that I had had several heart attacks? There was too much damage and old damage to be caused by the one I was admitted for.

I was not overweight, I was healthy, I was young, I exercised and was very active. I did, however, smoke and have a history of heart disease in my family (which I was not aware of.) The heart specialist told me that ALL of the symptons I described were classic symptons of heart attacks and he could NOT figure out how my other doctors did not catch it?

So…if you have any of those symptons, DO NOT ACCEPT one opinion and sometimes it may take more, but get diagnosed or be able to absolutely rule out a heart attack. To date I have had two stent placements, a valve repaired and three ballooned artieries! And we are not done yet. Because the damage was not treated right away there is a lot of it.

I must tell you that I take Plavix and aspirin on a daily basis now with other medications and have gone almost three years without a heart attack and only a few angina attacks. I had another massive heart attack, but I do believe the medications have helped with controlling them and that simply took time to figure out. I am one of the lucky ones and/or blessed ones because I’ve had family members (younger) than me pass away with heart attacks, even after my diagnosis!

I’m still wandering about the medical profession myself because I was also admitted since then, KNOWING what a heart attack feels like, and a “new” doctor came in and said I could go home because it WAS NOT heart attack. Within 30 minutes I was being flown to another hospital for another stent placement that was a 90% blockage. Had the other doctor had his way, I probably would have went home and died!

My husband was told had this happened to anyone else, they would have hit the floor and never got up. I don’t know why or how I have survived the other heart attacks, but I have, and I Thank God for that.

I did a lot of crying before I got help and had even comtemplated suicide because the pain is so severe you wish you were dead! Not to mention the vomiting and not having the strength to reach the phone to call 911! Being told (by one doctor) that this was in my head nearly destroyed me and my marriage because I knew it was real! I now tell all my friends and warn people every chance I get. This is serious, no matter your age, take it seriously! Find out your family history if at all possible. It helps. Argue with your doctor if you have to and don’t just settle for what he says. I no longer do. Glenda