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A study published in the European Society of Cardiology found that heart attack diagnosis is often missed in women as compared to men. Upon comparing 41,828 patients with chest pain (42% women), the researchers found that women were 41 per cent more likely to present late to the hospital as compared to 37 per cent of men. Authors of the study believe that heart attack has long been seen to be a male condition, and women's symptoms have been understudied, underdiagnosed, and undertreated since they may ascribe their symptoms to stress or anxiety. Women and men who are experiencing chest pain should get medical attention as soon as possible.
Dr Santosh Kumar Dora, Senior Cardiologist, Asian Heart Institute, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai, says "One of the most common heart attack symptoms that we know of is some type of chest pain, pressure or discomfort that lingers more than a minute or comes and goes. While some women can experience this symptom, they are more likely than men to have heart attack symptoms that are unrelated to chest pain."
"Rather than having classical chest pain, a woman with angina may experience shortness of breath, abdominal discomfort, giddiness, sweating, arm pain, neck pain etc. Women are also likely to have symptoms more often when resting, or even when asleep than they do in men. Many times, they may be absent altogether. Almost two-thirds of women who die suddenly of coronary artery disease may not have any previous symptoms," he added.
Some of the pre heart attack symptoms in women include:
Dr Dora explains, "some of the main risk factors for heart disease in women include stress, family history and menopause. Their risk of cardiovascular disease increases after menopause."
He further elaborated that these symptoms tend to be uncommon and not as noticeable as the classic symptoms of crushing chest pain, women don't always recognise them on time. Due to this, women tend to show up as emergency cases after heart damage has occurred. While heart disease is one of the leading causes of mortality among women worldwide, the good news is that it is largely preventable. If only women are more aware of their unique heart symptoms and risk factors, cardiac issues can be kept at bay at every stage of life.
Here are some preventive steps suggested by Dr Santosh Kumar Dora:
Do not neglect your symptoms. Talk to your doctor and get yourself checked up if you experience any symptoms which should not be there. Cardiac symptoms in women are very atypical in nature.