Heart disease has a bit of a branding issue….CONTINUE READING
People tend to think of heart disease as more of a men’s health issue, but women have more than their fair share of coronary health problems.
According to the British Heart Foundation
(BHF), every year in the UK, coronary heart disease (CHD) kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer.
It was also the biggest killer of women around the world in 2019.
Sadly, women are also more likely to dismiss heart attack symptoms, which results in a dangerous delay in getting the help so urgently needed to save their lives.
Perhaps most worryingly of all are occasions on which women’s symptoms aren’t downplayed by the sufferers, but by medical professionals themselves.
To help, GP and women’s health specialist Dr Nighat Arif has shared five signs you might not expect – but should definitely not ignore. They include:
1. Uncomfortable pressure, fullness or pain in the centre of your chest that goes away and comes back.
2. Pain or discomfort in one or both of your arms, neck, jaw or stomach.
3. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
4. Cold sweats, nausea and/or light headedness.
5. Chest pain.
Professor Chris Gale from University of Leeds, also previously told us
: ‘We need to shift the perception that heart attacks only affect a certain type of person.
‘Typically, when we think of a person with a heart attack, we envisage a middle-aged man who is overweight, has diabetes and smokes.
‘This is not always the case. Heart attacks affect the wider spectrum of the population – including women.’
The BHF says there are no heart attack symptoms that women experience more or less frequently than men do.
If you think you could be having a heart attack
, the charity says you should call 999 immediately, then sit and rest, take a 300mg aspirin if you happen to have any to hand, and wait for the paramedics to arrive.
As part of an NHS campaign last year, Professor Nick Linker, consultant cardiologist and NHS national clinical director for heart disease, said: ‘Often people don’t realise they’re having a heart attack, either because they don’t recognise the early signs, or because they don’t consider them severe enough to trouble the NHS.
‘But make no mistake, a heart attack is a medical emergency, and it’s never too early to call 999 and describe your symptoms….CONTINUE READING