A study from New York-Presbyterian Hospital in the current issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a journal of the American Heart Association, shows that American women’s awareness of heart attack symptoms remain just as poor as it was over a decade ago. In fact, only 53% of women said they would call 9-1-1 if they were having symptoms of a heart attack. The majority of women were also not aware of these common symptoms – only 56% cited chest pain and neck, shoulder and arm pain, 29% shortness of breath, 17% chest tightness, 15% nausea, and 7% fatigue as signs of heart attack. However, it should be noted that women do not necessarily experience these same classic symptoms as the majority of men. A significant number of women will experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, weakness, unusual fatigue, cold sweat, and dizziness as major symptoms during a heart attack. So, as heart disease continues to remain the top killer of women in the US, it is evident that continued education directed towards awareness of heart attacks in women is very much needed. [via Medical News Today]
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Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.