Women warns how heart attack symptoms can be different for females in viral Twitter thread
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A woman shared her heart attack symptoms on Twitter to spread awareness of how the symptoms can ‘feel different’ for women compared to men.
Taking to the social media platform on Sunday evening, US user @geewheezie detailed her experience.
While chest pain is commonly associated with a heart attack, she explains she felt none.
I want to warn women our heart attacks feel different. Last Sunday I had a heart attack. I had a 95% block in my left anterior descending artery. I’m alive because I called 911. I never had chest pain. It wasn’t what you read in pamphlets. I had it off & on for weeks.
— gwheezie (@geewheezie) December 9, 2018
The pain ran across my upper back, shoulder blades & equally down both arms. It felt like burning & aching. I actually thought it was muscle strain. It wasn’t until I broke into drenching sweat & started vomiting that I called 911.
— gwheezie (@geewheezie) December 9, 2018
Despite being a nurse, the woman was not able to identify her heart attack at first, which was not presenting the typical chest pain symptom.
I’m a nurse. I’m an older woman. I had been spending the week helping my neighbor clean out her barn, I thought I strained some muscles. I took Motrin & put a warm pack on my shoulders, I almost died because I didn’t call it chest pain.
— gwheezie (@geewheezie) December 9, 2018
The day before my heart attack I drove 6 hours to help my mother who lives in another state. I thought I should go to a dr but I had to help my mom who is 90 & I’d just tough it out because it wasn’t real bad.
— gwheezie (@geewheezie) December 9, 2018
Once she got to the hospital, she was taken in for surgery and spent three nights there.
I was lucky, I had no idea what hospital to go to, the female medics who picked me up took me to a hospital that does cardiac caths, i had 4 stents placed an hour after I got to the er. That was Sunday. I was discharged thurs & at my daughters house & back to tweeting.
— gwheezie (@geewheezie) December 9, 2018
The Twitter thread quickly went viral, sparking a conversation about symptoms from those who have experienced heart attacks – or know someone who has.
Another symptom is jaw pain, believe it or not. A friend of mine had these non-specific pains in her jaw, and I’d read this somewhere. I told her to ask for an ECG. Sure enough, she’d had a heart attack. We all need to be vigilant. Often, ER doctors aren’t cued in to women.
— Wanda Fischer (@WandaFischer) December 10, 2018
Also, neck pain. We lost a family friend earlier this year bc she thought she pulled a muscle in her neck, she was sent home from the ER and passed that night.
— Fantasia’s Funeral Shoes (@WhoIsYou_) December 10, 2018
What are the other heart attack symptoms?
According to the NHS website, heart attack symptoms include chest pain; pain in other parts of the body; lightheadedness; sweating; shortness of breath; nausea; anxiety; and coughing and wheezing.
Women – as well as elderly people and diabetes sufferers – commonly experience no chest pain at all.
MedicSpot GP Dr Sufian Ali adds: “Symptoms of a heart attack which are more likely to be experienced by women include indigestion, nausea and vomiting, sudden weakness, fatigue, pain and discomfort between the shoulder blades, and a sense of impending doom.
“It is important for women to understand that these are symptoms of a heart attack even though they may not experience the typical pain in the centre of their chest.
“Heart attack symptoms are not always experienced differently between men and women. It is possible for both men and women to experience symptoms including a crushing pain, pressure or tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, sweating, sudden dizziness or a brief loss of consciousness, pain which spreads to the shoulders, neck, arm or jaw.
“Heart attacks are often associated with a pain in the chest, shortness of breath and cold sweats. However, not everyone will experience these symptoms. In fact, some heart attacks can occur without a person knowing it. This is medically referred to as ‘silent ischaemia’, a lack of oxygen to the heart, sometimes called a ‘silent heart attack’.”
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