Many Women, and Their Doctors, Don’t Recognize Female Heart Attack Symptoms
A new review of studies on heart attacks in men and women finds symptoms can be different, but women—and their doctors—often don’t recognize them.
By Fran Kritz
Medically Reviewed by Michael Cutler, DO, PhD
Marcia Kritzler-Egeland felt a sharp pain in her biceps one morning during her regular pool fitness class. The school media specialist, who was in her forties at the time, said that it went away quickly, so she dismissed it. Later that day, while visiting her primary care doctor for a routine checkup, she had an EKG exam to check her heart. The test came back normal. Her doctor was about to move on when Kritzler-Egeland said she had a funny feeling. The doctor did a blood test to check enzyme levels that indicate a heart attack and found that her patient had in fact suffered a heart attack that morning. A few hours later, emergency room doctors found three major blockages in Kritzler-Egeland’s coronary arteries and a cardiologist put in seven stents.
https://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-attack/symptoms/many-women-their-doctors-dont-recognize-female-heart-attack-symptoms/
