Women's Heart Attack Symptoms Different from Men's
Research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that women often experience new or different physical symptoms as long as a month or more before experiencing heart attacks.
Among the 515 women studied, 95-percent said they knew their symptoms were new or different a month or more before experiencing their heart attack, or Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). The symptoms most commonly reported were unusual fatigue (70.6-percent), sleep disturbance (47.8-percent), and shortness of breath (42.1-percent).
Many women never had chest pains
Surprisingly, fewer than 30% reported having chest pain or discomfort prior to their heart attacks, and 43% reported have no chest pain during any phase of the attack. Most doctors, however, continue to consider chest pain as the most important heart attack symptom in both women and men.
The NIH study, titled "Women's Early Warning Symptoms of AMI," is one of the first to investigate women's experience with heart attacks, and how this experience differs from men's. Recognition of symptoms that provide an early indication of heart attack, either imminently or in the near future, is critical to forestalling or preventing the disease.
In a NIH press release, Jean McSweeney, PhD, RN, Principal Investigator of the study at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, said, "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. Because there was considerable variability in the frequency and severity of symptoms," she added, "we need to know at what point these symptoms help us predict a cardiac event."
Women's symptoms not as predictable
According to Patricia A.Grady, PhD, RN, Director of the NINR, "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."
The women's major symptoms prior to their heart attack included:
•Unusual fatigue - 70%
•Sleep disturbance - 48%
•Shortness of breath - 42%
•Indigestion - 39%
•Anxiety - 35%
Major symptoms during the heart attack include:
•Shortness of breath - 58%
•Weakness - 55%
•Unusual fatigue - 43%
•Cold sweat - 39%
•Dizziness - 39%
生育年龄的女性得心脏病的很少，是完全得益于妇女独有的荷尔蒙，尤其是雌性激素。这些荷尔蒙，可提高血管的弹性，降低血压，增加血液中好的胆固醇（HDL)，降低坏的胆固醇（LDL和VLDL)，使得妇女的血管比较不容易得粥样硬化（Atherosclerosis）和阻塞（Occlusion)。
更年期以后，情况就大不相同了，身体内的雌性激素大幅度减少，女性一下子失去了保护伞，心脏血管缺乏缓冲适应力，所以心脏血管病的发生率就急剧上升。更年期以后的妇女，一旦得了心脏病，手术失败率与并发症都比男人高，死亡率也比男人高。
女性对心脏病的警觉性普遍不够。尤其是在更年期以后，很多人把一些可能是心脏病的症状，如胸口闷、走路喘、心脏砰砰跳，当作更年期必然现象，而忽略了这可能是心脏所发出的警报。 近几年，妇女特别担心自己患上乳癌或子宫颈癌。事实上，心血管疾病和中风，才是现代妇女最大的杀手！
心绞痛是男性心脏病发作的典型症状之一。与男人恰好相反，女人心脏病患者却很少出现心绞痛的症状。
