Heart Attack Risk and Women

Mommies and Heart Attack Risk

Mommies are assumed to know certain health-related facts: they are able to identify a chicken pox bump; they have magical powers with scraped knees; they can take your temperature by kissing your forehead.

But it’s surprising how many mommies don’t know the details of their own heart attack risk, nor the fact that heart attack symptoms are different for women than for men.

Heart Attack Risk and Women
Among all US women who die each year, one in four dies of a heart attack. That should get your attention. We all have a certain level of heart attack risk, and it’s necessary therefore to know the symptoms of heart attacks in women.

Some of the symptoms are the same as for men: pain or pressure in the center of the chest, shortness of breath, radiating pain in the arm. But women also experience radiating pain between the shoulder blades, neck, and jaw and upper abdominal pain.

Don’t Deny Your Heart Attack Risk:
Women’s heart attack symptoms can begin as milder symptoms that mimic other problems, and women, accustomed to their role as caregivers, often ignore their own heart attack risk and possible symptoms: flu-like symptoms, including nausea and indigestion, sudden extreme fatigue, weakness, dizziness, sweating for no apparent reason.

Again, Don’t Deny Your Heart Attack Risk:
One symptom women experience far more than men is a sense of impending doom, sometimes accompanied by panic attacks. Never forget that caring for your family includes caring for your own health; it is vital to assess your personal risk of heart attack and to take measures to keep your heart safe.