Signs & Symptoms of a Heart Attack in a Young Woman

Heart disease is our nation's number one killer. According to the Women's Heart Foundation---there are about half a million heart attack deaths in the United States each year, and half of those are women. The foundation says heart disease in young women accounts for about 16,000 deaths a year. In fact, the foundation says as many women die of heart disease between the ages of 40 and 60 as breast cancer.

Importance of Recognition

• Figuring out if you're having a heart attack may be difficult if you are a young woman. According to the Mayo Clinic, women might have "all, none, many or a few of the typical heart attack symptoms." Since medical experts say getting treatment as quickly as possible is vital, it is important to know all the possible signs and symptoms of a heart attack.

Chest Pain or Discomfort

• This is the most common symptom of a heart attack. The chest pain can feel like an ache, pressure, fullness or squeezing in the center of your chest. This pain would last more than a few minutes and may come and go. But the Mayo Clinic says women are more likely then men to have NO chest pain during a heart attack.

Anxiety

• Anxiety is also a typical heart-attack symptom. If you are having a heart attack, you might experience a sense of doom, or you may feel as if you're having a panic attack. You might also feel dizzy and lightheaded, as if you might pass out.

Other Typical Signs and Symptoms

• People experiencing heart attacks often experience shortness of breath. They end up breaking into a sweat with cold, clammy skin, and may feel sick to their stomach or vomit.

Not-so-typical Symptoms

• The Mayo Clinic says women may feel discomfort in their neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or abdomen. They may also feel like they are having heartburn and may have unusual or unexplained fatigue. The Women's Heart Foundation says nearly three-quarters of women report having flu-like symptoms at least a couple of weeks before they have more serious chest pains or severe shortness of breath.

  According to Mayo Clinic cardiologist Sharonne Hayes, these are not considered "women's symptoms" but they are symptoms women are more likely to feel. The doctor also says women are more likely to experience nausea or vomiting.

Diagnosing Younger Women

• Hayes has treated women in their 30s and 40s who have had heart attacks and says if a younger woman goes to the emergency room with "fairly classic symptoms," emergency workers often may not think she is having a heart attack. The doctor says even the woman with the symptoms might not think it's a heart attack. Hayes says younger women may have more of the so called 'non-classic" symptoms without chest pain.

What To Do

• If you feel like you are having a heart attack, you should call your doctor or 911 right away. Once at the emergency room, a younger women experiencing the signs and symptoms of a heart attack needs to tell the nurses and doctors why she came in, because she will need to get the proper tests---and the emergency room workers may not be considering a heart attack unless the person brings it up, Hayes says.