Do You Know Your Heart Attack Risk?

Women have different heart attack symptoms to men so it’s important to know your risk factors.

- Professor Kerryn Phelps

Our radar is always on in generapractice for “red flag symptoms”. Some of these are obvious, like bleeding, jaundice or particular types of pain. Some are more subtle hints of underlying serious diseases that may not be immediately obvious, but can be catastrophic if they are overlooked.

In recent years there has been a renewed focus on the awareness of heart disease in women. This is because one in three women doesn’t demonstrate the “typical” symptoms of heart disease that have traditionally been applied to men. The symptoms experienced by women are often vague and non-specific, so they may not trigger a visit to the doctor or emergency department. Rather than the classic gripping left-sided chest pain we usually associate with a need to rush to hospitawith suspected heart attack, women might experience neck or jaw tightness, dizziness, vomiting, fatigue, sweating, palpitations and shortness of breath. Any chest pain may be described as a tightness or pressure.