While both men and women can experience the persistent chest pain commonly associated with heart attacks, women often have different symptoms that if left unchecked can lead to dangerous delays in care.
Nupur Shah, MD, a cardiologist with Atlantic Health System, shares how heart attack symptoms differ between women and men and how you can lower your risk of dangerous cardiovascular events.
What are women’s heart attack symptoms?
During a heart attack, women can experience a variety of symptoms — often together — beyond chest pain. These include:
- Abdominal pain
- Back pain
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Jaw pain
- Shortness of breath
“There is a common misconception that women present with atypical symptoms, but women present with women-specific symptoms,” says Dr. Shah. “Often these symptoms, including chest pain, are attributed to other conditions like anxiety, acid reflux and other non-cardiac problems. Unfortunately, that delays diagnosis and treatment which can mean worse outcomes.”
Why is heart disease different in women and men?
Women and men have different anatomy, so it makes sense that heart disease might look different for them. Compared to men, women generally have smaller hearts and arteries. Women also tend to develop softer plaques in their microvasculature rather than hard plaque in large arteries.
“There are two big challenges when it comes to women’s heart health,” says Dr. Shah. “One is a lack of awareness that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, exceeding all cancers combined. The second is not recognizing symptoms as being those of a heart attack, which leads to delay of care.”
Treatment for heart attacks is often the same among men and women. However, because of delays in diagnosis, women are less likely to get aggressive treatments or get referred to cardiac rehab.
“Anyone experiencing symptoms of a heart attack should call 911 or go to the emergency department immediately, as time is critical and early intervention can significantly improve outcomes,” says Dr. Shah. “For women especially, if you notice something is wrong, advocate for yourself. If you feel like you are experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, ask for an EKG, echocardiogram, stress test and heart enzymes.”
What are women’s heart disease risk factors?
Many of the traditional heart disease risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking and obesity, are the same for both men and women, but women have up to a dozen additional risk factors that can increase their risk of heart attacks:
- Anxiety and depression
- Auto-immune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
- Breast cancer and some of its treatments
- Hormonal changes, including menopause
- Pregnancy-related complications like pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes
Curbing the risk of heart disease
Women can lower their risk of heart disease by maintaining a healthy lifestyle including:
- Eating a healthy diet (including limiting salt, sugar and processed foods)
- Exercising regularly
- Avoiding smoking and recreational drugs
- Getting check-ups with a doctor and keeping risk factors under control
- Limiting alcohol consumption
Getting started on the path to better heart health doesn’t need to be complicated and, in many cases, you don’t even need to leave the house.
“At-home exercise is a great way to start improving heart health by strengthening the heart muscle, improving blood pressure, reducing weight and lowering stress,” says Dr. Shah. “The key is to be consistent and do whatever you can.”
Be proactive about your health
Staying up to date on annual wellness exams and screenings is important. So too, are the occasional trips to specialists to address sleep issues or any other health concerns that are nagging you.
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