Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. In 2020, it was responsible for about 1 in every 5 female deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, according to a survey from the American Heart Association, only about half of women surveyed recognize that heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the U.S., with major disparities in awareness among Black and Latino women.
Heart disease is the main cause of a heart attack, yet heart disease can be prevented.
“About 80% of all heart disease can be prevented,” says Dr. Kate Elfrey, a board-certified cardiologist with The Heart Center at Mercy in Baltimore, Maryland.
Gaps in awareness, however, mean many women are still at risk of suffering a heart attack. Understanding the symptoms and risk factors associated with a heart attack is important to ensure you seek treatment quickly and can take steps to reduce and prevent your chances of having heart problems in the future.
What Is a Heart Attack?
A heart attack is a severe cardiac condition in which there is a sudden problem with or interruption of blood flow to the heart.
“There are arteries that lay on top of the muscle of the heart, and they supply blood flow to the heart muscle so that it can pump appropriately,” Elfrey says. “When you have a buildup of plaque and cholesterol that becomes severe to the point where it has obstructed the artery, that’s when you’ll have a heart attack.”
The most common cause of heart attacks is a blockage in one or more of the major arteries feeding the heart. The plaque buildup will block the artery, preventing that territory of the heart muscle to not get adequate blood flow, which ultimately leads to pain, discomfort and other symptoms that come with a heart attack.
[READ: Exercises to Lower Cholesterol.]
Symptoms of Heart Attack
Common signs and symptoms of a heart attack include:
— Chest pain or discomfort.
— Pain or discomfort that radiates up to the jaw area or down the arm, to the back or stomach.
— Shortness of breath.
— Sweating.
— Dizziness or lightheadedness.
— Nausea or vomiting.
“The hallmark signs and symptoms (are) like what we see in the movies,” Elfrey says, describing it as a crushing chest pain, where the individual grabs their chest or makes a fist and holds onto their chest.
Someone experiencing a heart attack may describe the feeling as an elephant sitting on their chest. The pain may feel like an excruciating, severe squeezing sensation, explains Dr. Daniel Hermann, an interventional and structural cardiologist and director of structural cardiology at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center in Houston.
[READ: Heart-Healthy Soups.]
Heart Attack Symptoms in Women
Signs of a heart attack in women can present much more subtly than heart attack symptoms in men. In addition to the symptoms listed above, these include:
— Discomfort in the upper belly or lower chest, similar to the feeling of indigestion.
— Extreme fatigue.
All of these signs can be more prominent in women than the classic chest pain symptom. For women, maybe their chest pain is less prominent, or sometimes completely absent, Hermann says.
When to Seek Emergency Care
If you have an acute onset of symptoms and experience severe chest pain, profuse sweating and extreme dizziness, call 911.
“The faster you can get to the hospital so that we can see if you really are having a heart attack is very important,” Elfrey says, adding that, in a sudden severe cardiac event, there’s about an hour and a half window from when you begin experiencing symptoms to the time doctors can treat the heart attack in order to preserve heart function.
Because women’s heart attack signs are often much more subtle, it can be challenging to know when they’re experiencing a serious cardiac event and at what point they should seek emergency care.
If you live an active lifestyle and notice unusual changes, that’s a big warning sign. For example, Elfrey says, if you go out for a one-mile walk every day and notice you’re more fatigued or can’t walk up a hill you typically can without stopping and taking a break, that change could signal a heart attack.
If you aren’t feeling quite right — like feeling short of breath walking to the bathroom — the sooner you can get to the hospital the better.
“The most important thing is to listen to your body,” Elfrey says. “Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t say, ‘It’s probably just stress,’ or ‘It’s probably just indigestion.’ Don’t take the risk when it comes to the heart.”
Risk Factors for Heart Attack in Women
There’s no evidence that shows that one risk factor leads to a higher risk of heart attack in men or women, Elfrey says.
Risk factors for heart attack in men and women include:
— Family history of premature heart disease. If you have a loved one that had a heart attack at an early age — in their 40s or 50s — that’s a big risk factor.
— Obesity.
— Diabetes.
— Living a sedentary lifestyle.
— Smoking.
— Stress.
These risk factors can increase the buildup of plaque or fatty material in your arteries, which can lead to a heart attack.
Stress is often ignored as a risk factor, Elfrey says. Whether it’s work-related stress or family issues, this creates physical stress on our body.
“Our bodies kind of go into that fight-or-flight mode, and our cortisol levels will elevate, or go up high, so that we’re able to sustain and function at a higher level of breath,” Elfrey says.
Though cortisol secretion is necessary to cope with stress in the short term, prolonged and/or excessive secretion of the hormone can promote inflammation inside the body. Increased inflammation due to stress can trigger premature plaque building in the heart arteries, which contributes to the heart attack process, Elfrey says.
Elfrey also points out that, though risk factors don’t necessarily differ from men to women, women often take on the caretaker role in the household. This may add to more stress, causing many women to internalize stress and not take proper care of themselves to manage stress levels.
“In women, we need to pay close attention to how stress is affecting our bodies,” she says.
Preventing a Heart Attack
No matter your family history, there are several ways to keep heart disease at bay.
“We see a lot of people that are concerned because of family history, and they feel like they’ve been dealt a bad hand,” Hermann says. “You have a lot of power to modify your risk profile.”
Some of the best ways to prevent a heart attack and heart disease are to:
— Maintain a good relationship with your doctor.
— Ask about heart disease screening.
— Eat a heart-healthy diet.
— Get moving.
— Avoid smoking.
— Manage stress level.
Maintaining a good relationship with your doctor
Heart disease can be prevented. The key is building a great relationship with your physician and being able to listen to your body and ask questions, Elfrey says.
Ask about heart disease screening
Elfrey sees many patients who aren’t having any symptoms but just want to come in and have a risk assessment.
“They want to go over their risk factor profile, and that’s what saves lives,” she says.
There’s a simple noninvasive test that you can do, called a coronary calcium score, that looks for plaque buildup in your heart and heart arteries. It identifies how much risk you have of having a coronary heart problem.
The test is a non-contrast CT scan that essentially takes an X-ray of your heart and heart arteries.
“We’ve found so many people that are completely asymptomatic that are walking around with a very high plaque burden and not knowing anything about it,” Hermann says. “It’s important to discuss with your physician whether it’s appropriate to have it or not.”
Eat a heart-healthy diet
Eating a balanced diet that promotes heart health can help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Look to follow an eating plan that emphasizes heart-healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean poultry and fish.
Get moving
Men and women benefit from being more physically active, losing excess weight and following a heart-healthy diet. Adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity — such as biking, swimming or a brisk walk — and two days of muscle-strengthening activity per week, according to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Avoid smoking
For reasons unknown, smoking increases the risk of having a heart attack far greater for women than men. Avoiding certain things that are known to lead to heart disease — such as smoking — can decrease your risk, Hermann says.
Manage stress levels
We are all affected by stress differently, but it’s important to recognize stress as a major risk factor so that you can learn how to manage those symptoms.
More from U.S. News
Best Foods for Healthy Hair Growth
Best Frozen Meals, According to Nutritionists
Understanding the Signs of a Heart Attack in Women originally appeared on usnews.com
