Symptoms of heart attack in women

[Guest guest]

Thanks to Mr. Abburi Venkata Ramana, friend and member of this group,

who sent this message to me.

 

It takes a few minutes to read but may save yours or a loved one's life.

 

She said she didn't feel well and had a back ache and was going to

lay down on the bed with the heating pad. Awhile later her husband

went to check on her and she was not breathing. They were not able to

revive her. This is something we women should definitely take seriously.

 

*Please pass this on to those you love.

 

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the

best description I've ever read .....

 

Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction)

 

Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that

men have when experiencing heart attack ..... you know, the sudden

stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest &

dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of

one woman's experience with a heart attack.

 

'I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 pm with NO

prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect

might've brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold

evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story

my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the

life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet

propped up.'

 

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when

you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it

down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like

you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion

and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it

down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink

a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was

my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a

bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

 

'After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little

squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it

was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued

racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses

rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process

continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws.

 

'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening--we all have

read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of

an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat,'Dear

God, I think I'm having a heart attack!' I lowered the foot rest,

dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the

floor instead. I thought to myself 'If this is a heart attack, I

shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere

else......,but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that

I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in

moment'

 

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the

next room, and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I though t I was

having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum

and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just

stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over

immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to

unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see

me when they came in.

 

'I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness,

as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting

me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the

call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken

when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his

surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of

the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably

something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make

my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded

off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had

already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery

into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side

stunts to hold open my right coronary artery.

 

'I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have

taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but

actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the

fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my

Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going

on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival

and the procedure) and installing the stunts.

 

'Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? I want all

of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.'

 

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body

not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until

my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women

than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know

they were having one, and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take

some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation, and go to bed, hoping

they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up....which doesn't

happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like

mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is

unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to

have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what

it might be!

 

2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics'. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE

ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER--you're a hazard to

others on the road, and so is your panicked husband who will be

speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of

the road. Do NOT call your doctor--he doesn't know where you live and

if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his

assistant (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics.

He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved!

The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr.

will be notified later.

 

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a

normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol

elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI **(unless it's

unbelievably high, and/or accompanied by high blood pressure.) MI's

are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body,

which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge

things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep.

Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we

could survive...

 

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10

people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

 

Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you

care about!

 

Thank You.

Neeraja