What are the symptoms of a heart attack in men?
What are the symptoms of a heart attack in women?
What are the reasons for the differences?
How do we deal with it?
What is the difference between a heart attack, angina, and cardiac arrest?
The answers are in this comprehensive report.
We start with a "heart attack", where chest tightness, sweating, and shoulder and arm pain are the most common symptoms of a heart attack.
But there are big differences in how men and women experience a heart attack.
Memorial Care provides warning symptoms in men and women
Symptoms of a heart attack in men
1- Chest pain or tightness that looks like something heavy is lying on your chest.
2- A feeling of pressure in the chest that comes and goes or remains stationary.
3- Pain in the upper part of the body in the arms, left shoulder, back, neck, jaw or stomach.
4- Accelerated heart rate.
5- Pain or "stomach discomfort" (Indigestion).
6- Shortness of breath.
7- Dizziness.
8- Cold sweat, and it is known as sudden sweating, which does not result from the presence of a person in a hot climate or exertion.
Symptoms of a heart attack in women
1- Unusual fatigue that lasts for several days.
2- Sleep disturbances.
3- Anxiety.
4- Dizziness.
5- Shortness of breath.
6- Stomach pain or discomfort.
7- Pain in the upper back or shoulder.
8- Pain in the throat.
9- Pain in the jaw.
10- Pressure or pain in the middle of the chest, which may spread to the arm.
It is noted that most women do not experience classic symptoms such as chest or arm pain, and many women experience symptoms of a heart attack more than a month before the attack occurs.
Nika Goldberg, Medical Director of the Joan H.
And the Langone Medical Center said in a statement to the American Heart Association that women may suffer from shortness of breath, pressure, lower chest or upper abdomen pain, dizziness or fainting, upper back pressure or extreme fatigue.
Goldberg added that a woman in a state of heart attack may feel very short of breath as if she was running a marathon;
But she did not take any step.
Why is the difference?
In men, a heart attack usually begins with a sudden rupture of "cholesterol-filled plaque" in the coronary artery in the heart.
Which leads to a blood clot.
In younger women in particular, the plaque is more likely to erode in the vessel wall rather than burst.
"Women are more likely to have smaller, non-fatal heart attacks," said Dr. Nadita Scott, cardiologist and co-director of the Corrigan Women's Heart Health Foundation, in a statement to Harvard.
Women are also more likely than men to develop "small vessel disease" (small vessel disease), a condition in which the small vessels inside the heart muscle are blocked rather than the superficial large arteries.
"We see a lot of women who suffer from classic" angina "(chest pain associated with the heart), but their major coronary arteries appear normal; they may have a heart attack if the condition is not treated," Dr. Scott adds.
Postmenopausal women also experience a sudden and unusual change in the shape of the heart muscle known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which occurs in response to intense emotional stress.
Also called "broken heart syndrome", it is characterized by chest pain and changes in the electrical activity of the heart that mimic a heart attack, however, arteries appear devoid of cholesterol plaques (that cause the heart attack) during the initial event;
But these women are still at risk of heart rhythm problems or even death.
In all cases, emergency services should be contacted directly if you suffer from any of the symptoms of a heart attack, and even when you suspect it.
What is a heart attack?
What is different from angina and cardiac arrest?
The heart attack, which we talked about the differences in its symptoms between men and women, is also known as "myocardial infarction" and "heart attack", which is a condition that occurs when a clot (a mass of blood clot, or a blood clot) closes. Part of the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle, and this interruption in blood supply may lead to damage or death in the heart tissue, from which the blood was cut off.
In a heart attack, death or permanent damage to the heart cells occurs due to insufficient oxygen supply. It is a medical emergency, and it can be fatal if not treated early.
heart attack
Angina pectoris is chest pain caused by insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle itself.
In angina, death or permanent damage to the heart cells does not occur, which is a risk factor for heart attack.
Among the causes of angina is the presence of a disease in the coronary arteries, or a blockage in the arteries, and among the factors involved in it is smoking, doing severe physical exertion, and exposure to emotional pressure.
When experiencing angina, you should stop doing any activity, and lie down in a comfortable position. If the person has one of the angina medicines, they are taken, such as "Nitroglycerin".
Angina pectoris does not lead to death;
But you must see a doctor and find out the causes of it and deal with it, because it indicates the existence of a problem that hinders the blood supply to the heart muscle, and failure to treat it may lead to a heart attack, which is an emergency condition that may lead to death.
If a person is unsure whether they are having a heart attack or angina, they should call 911.
heart attack
Cardiac arrest "Cardiac Arrest", in which the heart stops working, and its symptoms are the failure of the victim when striking his shoulder, not breathing normally, or stopping breathing.
But before cardiac arrest there may be warning signs, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness and heart palpitations.
Cardiac arrest is a serious medical emergency, and emergency services must be called and the patient should be sent to hospital immediately.
Because it is fatal, and when a person has a cardiac arrest, emergency services must be called immediately, and CPR should be started.