Warning signs differ in women - Heart Attack - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Feb, 2004

A study of women's symptoms prior to heart attack indicates that about 95% say they knew their symptoms were new or different a month or more before experiencing their Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). This was true even when the precursors were common ones and varied in severity. Notably, fewer than 30% reported chest pain and discomfort prior to AMI, and 43% did not experience chest pain during AMI. Most clinicians continue to consider chest pain as the most important symptom for both women and men.

Recognition of warning signs that provide an early indication of heart attack, either imminently or in the near future, is critical to forestalling or preventing the disease.

"Symptoms such as indigestion, sleep disturbances, or weakness in the arms, which many of us experience on a daily basis, were recognized by many women in the study as warning signals for AMI," reports Jean McSweeney, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock.

"Because there was considerable variability in the frequency and severity of symptoms, we need to know at what point these symptoms help us predict a cardiac event."

Major prodromal symptoms in order of reported frequency include unusual fatigue (70%), sleep disturbance (48%), shortness of breath (42%), indigestion (39%), and anxiety (35%). Major acute symptoms during AMI in order of reported frequency include shortness of breath (58%), weakness (55%), unusual fatigue (43%), and cold sweat and dizziness (39% each).

Concludes Patricia A. Grady, director of the National Institute of Nursing Research: "Increasingly, it is evident that women's symptoms are not as predictable as men's. This study offers hope that both women and clinicians will realize the wide range of symptoms that can indicate heart attack. It is important not to miss the earliest possible opportunity to prevent or ease AMI, which is the number one cause of death in both women and men."