What If It’s a Heart Attack?
February is American Heart Month and as we reported, the American Heart Association is encouraging women to check up on their heart health and know their personal risk of heart disease.
What many women may not know is that a woman’s symptoms of heart attack can be very different from the symptoms a man experiences. Men usually have tradtitional symptoms such as a squeezing pain or pressure in the chest, but women are more likely to experience shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, back and jaw pain.
Often neither the woman suffering these symptoms nor her physician recognize that the symptoms signal a heart attack and may be dismissed as stress, panic attacks or hypochondria. Delay in diagnosis and treatment can impact the chances of a good outcome following a heart attack.
In addition to knowing the signs of a heart attack, knowing what to do if you think you are having these symptoms is equally important.
From Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, here’s some tips on what to do if you suspect you or someone else is having a heart attack:
1. Take immediate action; call 9-1-1 immediately. Don’t take time trying to reach your doctor. And don’t try to drive yourself or someone else to the hospital in this situation. Remember, every minute of delay means more heart muscle is damaged.
2. Chew one aspirin. Most heart attacks are caused by blood clots in the arteries, and aspirin reduces the growth of these clots.
3. CPR. If the person is not breathing, start cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If you haven’t taken a class in CPR, sign up today. It might be the best present you ever give to someone you care about.
