Heart Attack Symptoms Women Shouldn't Ignore (2024)

Your body is very adept at giving signals when something’s wrong. For example, a problem with the heart not only triggers nerves in that area, but also causes pain elsewhere. The painor pressure is sometimes sudden, not due to physical exertion, and can wake you up at night.

More often than not, youassociate chest pain/pressurewith aheart attack. However, women especially need to watch out for additional signs ofcardiac trouble.

“Most women have the same symptoms as men,” says cardiologistLeslie Cho, MD. “Up to 70% of women have chest pressure or chest tightness. But 30% of women have atypical symptoms.”

Below, Dr. Cho discusses the three atypical symptoms you should watch for ― and explains how to tellwhat’s cause for concern, and what’s not.

Extreme fatigue

Like many women, you’re probablybusy most of the timejuggling work and family. Unsurprisingly, this means you’reprobably also tired a lot of the time, which is perfectly normal. However, cardiac fatigue is far more dramatic and debilitating.

“We’re not talking about global fatigue like you feel tired at the end of the day,” says Dr. Cho. “We’re not talking about you needing to go take a nap at 5o’clock.”

Instead, this means you’re suddenly worn out after your typical exercise routine. “We’re talking about you were able to walk up a couple of flights of stairs — and now you can barely walk up one,” says Dr. Cho. “Or you can’t walk upstairs without feeling severe fatigue.”

Other things to watch out for include fatigue or a “heavy” chest even if you aren’t exerting yourself, or being excessively tired from simple activities such as making the bed, walking to the bathroom or shopping.

Shortness of breath

As women age, a lack of exercise and gradual weight gain cause issues like shortness of breath. However, this can signal a heart problem when it happens in certain situations.

“You might notice that when you’re walking around the block taking your dog out, you’ll become very short-winded where you weren’t before,” Dr. Cho says. “Walking to your car, you’ll get very, very short-winded.”

Shortness of breath that worsens when lying down — and improves when you’re sitting up — is also a warning signof heart failure, as is breathlessness that continues to worsen over time after exertion. Feeling suddenly short of breath if you’renotexercising is also a symptom.

An inability to do what you were able to do before

Defining this symptom can be somewhat difficult because it’s less a universal heart attack sign and more dependent on your individual experiences and baseline energy levels.

“It’s a significant change in your functional status, is how I would put it,” says Dr. Cho. “You were able to be on the treadmill 20 minutes, but now you can barely do 10 because you just feel so tired.”

Other potential heart attack signs

Heart attack signs look different for everyone, although there are a few common ones to watch for.

• Neck, jaw, arm, and back pain: Painradiating to your jaw, back, neck, or arms may signal a heart condition, especially if the origin is hard to pinpoint. For example, you might feel pain, but no specific muscle or joint aches. If the discomfort begins or worsens when you are exerting yourself, and then stops when you quit exercising, you should also get it checked out.
• Unexpected sweating: During menopause, many women experiencehot flashes. However, sudden or excessive sweatingassociated with other symptoms such as nausea or chest pressurecan also be a heart attack sign. “Stress” sweat (a cold, clammy feeling) when there is noreal cause for stress, or sweating or shortness of breath accompanied by other symptoms, such as chest pain or fatigue, can be cause for concern.
• Chest pain: Chest pain/pressureis a very common heart attack sign, but can feel different than you might think. “We need to dig deeper into the symptom of chest pain for both men and women as it relates to heart attacks,” Dr. Cho says. “It is seldom as dramatic as you might think, and it canfeel likepressure or heart burn thatcomes on over time.”

When should you call 911 for a heart problem?

At certain times, calling 911 right away is a must. “If you’re having chest pressure or chest tightness that started that day, you should not wait to go to your general practitioner,” says Dr. Cho. “Go to the emergency room.”

You should also call 911 and get help right away if you have chest pain or discomfort along with any of the following symptoms, especially if they last longer than five minutes:

• Pain or discomfort in other areas of the upper body, including the arms, left shoulder, back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
• Sweating or “cold sweat.”
• Fullness, indigestion or a choking feeling (may feel like heartburn).
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Light-headedness, dizziness, extreme weakness or anxiety.
• Rapid or irregular heartbeats.

What to doif you notice heart attack symptoms

If you do suspect you might have heart attack symptoms — and some do appear weeks or months before a heart attack — don’t discount them out of hand or let them linger for too long. “Women often think it’s something else,” says Dr. Cho. “The sad thing is, women do tend to have more blockages in their heart when they do need to have something done.”

When should you see your doctor?

It’s always better to err on the side of caution if something doesn’t feel right. “If you have noticed that you are shorter of breath with regular activity, you should go to your general doctor or your cardiologist,” says Dr. Cho. “It depends on the severity and the acuteness — if it has started recently or not.”

When you do visit, be sure to:

• Bringa list of your symptoms and when they are occurring.
• Let them know about anyrelatedfamily historyof heart disease.
• Talk about stress or anything going on in your life that might contribute to a problem.