Angina Support Group

 

 
              FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

Women and heart attacks (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 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 cosy 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 esophageus 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 it 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 administering 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 footrest 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 dialled 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 unlocked the door and 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 a t 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
stents.

'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.' And if you can
     take an aspirin.  Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
     Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard
    to others on the road.
    Do NOT have 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). MIs 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.    

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail
sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save
at least one life.

**Please be a true  friend and send this article to all
your friends (male & female) you care about!**
 
 

 

 
Posted on 09/25/08, 01:09 am