We’ve all seen the dramatic moment that a beloved television character clutches their chest in agony and collapses to the ground with a heart attack. Some say that the best drama is based on fact, and a number of heart attack survivors describe just that – a crushing pain in the chest, which seemingly came from nowhere.
However, the symptoms of a heart attack can also be a lot more subtle and insidious, particularly in women. Some people might experience pain in an arm or in the back, rather than the chest, and many people start to feel sick, hot and clammy, and might think they just have a stomach bug. A lot of people describe an indigestion-like symptom and might think they have simply eaten too much. Others might seek help from a physiotherapist, feeling like they have pulled a muscle in the neck, shoulder, or back.
In the UK every year more women die from heart disease than breast cancer, but they take longer to seek medical attention from the onset of symptoms. Whilst it is important not to panic and assume that every unexplained symptom is a heart attack, early diagnosis of a heart attack is essential, so the value of education and understanding about heart disease and its manifestations and representations really cannot be overstated.
The British Heart Foundation has a useful page on heart attacks, which links in to other pages which you might find useful. Click here to read more.