Warning Signs of a Heart Attack in Women

The signs of a heart attack can be different for women vs. men. Although people of any sex may have well-known signs and symptoms like chest pain, women are more likely to experience fatigue, indigestion, and other signs. Plus, the chest pain women has may feel different compared with men.

This article covers heart attack signs and symptoms in women, types of heart attack, and why women are at an increased risk of dying from a heart attack compared to men.

911 Heart Attack Signs Not to Ignore in Women

The signs (what a health provider or others can measure or observe) and symptoms (what the individual experiences) of a heart attack for women vs. men are similar.

However, some additional signs and symptoms are more common in women. Here are heart attack signs and symptoms in women that you shouldn't ignore:

• Chest pain (although it's possible to have a heart attack without chest pain): The pain may also be felt in the upper abdomen instead of or in addition to the chest. In women, it's more common to have a feeling of heaviness, often referred to as feeling like an elephant is on the chest.
• Clammy skin
• Dizziness
• Extreme fatigue
• Fainting
• Nausea/vomiting
• Pain in the jaw, neck, or upper back
• Shortness of breath

Extreme fatigue, fainting, and indigestion are heart attack signs that are more common in women. The signs of a heart attack experienced by women also are signs that may happen when someone is feeling a lot of stress. That makes the signs easier to ignore or dismiss them rather than seek medical help.

Heart attack symptoms may last a few minutes or a few hours. If you or someone you are with has the signs of a heart attack, call 911 right away. Stay on the phone and wait for further instructions. Even if you're not entirely sure that it's a heart attack, it's better to be safe and let health professionals know.

Heart Attack Symptoms in Women

In addition to the common signs of a heart attack, there also are signs and symptoms associated with specific types of heart attacks.

Silent Heart Attack

A silent heart attack is a heart attack with few or no signs and symptoms or unrecognized symptoms. Among 805,000 heart attacks each year, 170,000 are thought to be silent heart attacks.

With a silent heart attack, a person may not discover that they had a heart attack until seen by a healthcare provider for another reason. For instance, you may not feel like yourself or are more fatigued, so you decide to seek medical care. In the previous weeks, you may have felt like you had:

• The flu
• Indigestion
• A muscle strain in your chest or upper back or in your jaw or upper back or arms

With a silent heart attack, a previous heart attack is recognized only when magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), or other tests are performed.

A silent heart attack is just as dangerous as a heart attack with obvious signs and symptoms.

Mini Heart Attack

A mini heart attack is a type of heart attack that causes less damage to the heart compared with a traditional heart attack. The medical name for this type of heart attack is non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).

With NSTEMI, blood flow to one of the major arteries to the heart is partially blocked. Or, blood flow to one of the heart's minor arteries is completely blocked.

A mini heart attack will have the same signs and symptoms as a traditional heart attack, including:

• Chest pain or pressure
• Dizziness
• Excessive sweating
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath

A mini heart attack is still a medical emergency. Always call 911 for immediate help when someone has heart attack symptoms.

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection

One cause of heart attacks more common in women, especially young women, is spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD).

Arteries supply blood to the heart. With SCAD, there is a tear in the layers of one or more arteries. When the tear happens, a flap or a blood clot may form. Either of these can hinder blood flow to the heart, leading to a heart attack.

SCAD is the leading cause of heart attacks in women aged 50 or younger, as well as in pregnant people and people who have just given birth. People with SCAD typically do not have other heart disease risk factors.

The signs and symptoms of a heart attack caused by SCAD are similar to the signs of other heart attacks, including:

• Chest pain/pressure
• Dizziness
• Extreme sweating
• Nausea
• Pain in the arm, jaw, or upper back
• Shortness of breath
  

Average Age of Heart Attack in Women

The average age for a first heart attack in women is 72 years old. That compares with 65.6 years old in men.

However, there are now more women experiencing heart attacks at younger ages, including SCAD. One review found that heart attacks are especially increasing among women ages 35 to 54.

Heart attacks may be on the rise among younger people because of the prevalence of heart disease risk factors, including:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Smoking

Half of the adults in the United States have at least one of these risk factors. Some of the other factors that raise the risk for heart disease include:

• Diabetes
• Having obesity
• Lack of physical activity

When reviewing hospital admissions for heart attacks from 1995 to 2014, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Surveillance study found that hospitalizations among those aged 35 to 54 increased from 27% in the early study period to 32% by the end of the study period. The largest increase was among young women.

Reasons Women Have an Increased Risk for Mortality

Women are twice as likely as men to die from heart attacks. Reasons for this include:

• Heart disease has traditionally been thought of as "a man's disease," even though it's also the number one killer of women. This lack of awareness may postpone treatment.
• Heart attack signs in women or the combination of heart attack signs in women are lesser known than in men, so they are easier to ignore.
• Women are more likely to ignore or downplay their health symptoms if they also are in a caregiver role. This can cause them to postpone getting to a hospital, which could affect health results from the heart attack.

Women also are more likely to have health complications after a heart attack compared with men. This could be due to an older age at the time of the heart attack and the increased presence of health problems at the time of the heart attack.

Summary

Heart attack symptoms for women can be different than heart attack signs for men. In addition to chest pain and other signs, women also may experience extreme fatigue, fainting, and indigestion. Chest pain also may feel different.

Some types of heart attacks are more common in women, including silent heart attacks and SCAD. The average age for a heart attack in women is 72 years old, but more heart attacks are occurring among women at a younger age. Women also are more likely than men to die from heart attacks or experience health complications after a heart attack.