My wife asked me to read this to be aware of the symptoms.
She also asked me to share with you. . . .
Women and heart attacks (MI, Myocardial Infarction)
Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have
when experiencing heart attack...you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the
chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see
in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart
attack.
"I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior
exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it
on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in
my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually
thinking,"A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy
with my feet propped up." A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of
indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and
washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like
you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is
most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and
needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to
hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the
only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.
"After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing
motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my
aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum
(breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when adminstering CPR). This
fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both
jaws.
"AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening--we all have read and/or
heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening,
haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, "Dear God, I think I'm having
a heart attack !" I lowered the foot rest, dumping the cat from my lap, started
to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself "If this is a
heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or
anywhere else.......but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I
need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment."
"I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next
room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart
attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my
jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she
was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near
to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they
could see me when they came in.
"I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't
remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or
getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER
on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the
Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the
medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking
questions (probably something like "Have you taken any medications?") but I
couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and
nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already
threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and
into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right
coronary artery.
"I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at
least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps
4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only
minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in
his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere
between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stints.
"Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all
of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand."
1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the
usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and
jaws got into the act ). It is said that many more women than men die of their
first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one, and commonly
mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn
preparation, and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they
wake up....which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be
exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is
unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a
"false alarm" visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!
2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics". Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do
NOT try to drive yourself to the ER--you're a hazard to others on the road, and
so is your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at
what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor--he
doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway,
and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to
call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to
be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr.
will be notified later.
3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal
cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading
is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high,and/or accompanied
by high blood pressure.) MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and
inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your
system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound
sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we
could survive...
I also found this link which confirms the above. . . .
http://heart-disease.health-cares.net/heart-attack-symptoms-woman.php
She also asked me to share with you. . . .
Women and heart attacks (MI, Myocardial Infarction)
Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have
when experiencing heart attack...you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the
chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see
in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart
attack.
"I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior
exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it
on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in
my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually
thinking,"A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy
with my feet propped up." A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of
indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and
washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like
you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is
most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and
needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to
hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the
only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.
"After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing
motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my
aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum
(breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when adminstering CPR). This
fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both
jaws.
"AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening--we all have read and/or
heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening,
haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, "Dear God, I think I'm having
a heart attack !" I lowered the foot rest, dumping the cat from my lap, started
to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself "If this is a
heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or
anywhere else.......but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I
need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment."
"I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next
room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart
attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my
jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she
was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near
to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they
could see me when they came in.
"I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't
remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or
getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER
on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the
Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the
medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking
questions (probably something like "Have you taken any medications?") but I
couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and
nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already
threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and
into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stents to hold open my right
coronary artery.
"I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at
least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps
4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only
minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in
his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere
between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stints.
"Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all
of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand."
1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the
usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and
jaws got into the act ). It is said that many more women than men die of their
first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one, and commonly
mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn
preparation, and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they
wake up....which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be
exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is
unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a
"false alarm" visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!
2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics". Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do
NOT try to drive yourself to the ER--you're a hazard to others on the road, and
so is your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at
what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor--he
doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway,
and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to
call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to
be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr.
will be notified later.
3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal
cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading
is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high,and/or accompanied
by high blood pressure.) MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and
inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your
system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound
sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we
could survive...
I also found this link which confirms the above. . . .
http://heart-disease.health-cares.net/heart-attack-symptoms-woman.php
