Heart Attacks in Women

By: Eric Hartwell

When women experience heart attacks, oftentimes they do not experience the typical crushing chest pain that so many associate with the event. Oftentimes they will only experience a wave of discomfort in their backs or some other easily ignored sign in the upper half of their bodies.

This misunderstanding of the condition is often carried over to the emergency room setting, when a doctor might miss the symptoms of an attack because they are too vague. Oftentimes they are sent home thinking that they just imagined they were having a heart attack, only to experience more severe heart attacks at a later date.

Recently, evidence has arisen that proves that women experience heart disease in ways that are different from men. A study was recently conducted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Called WISE (short for Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation), the study established that heart disease in women is often not merely the result of artery blockage as it is in men. For women, rather, plaque will often spread itself evenly along the walls of the artery or in smaller arteries that are often hidden from the angiogram (the imaging test that measures the flow of blood in major arteries.) This condition is called coronary microvascular syndrome. When it occurs, blood flow to the heart falls to a dangerously low level. But because it occurs in minor arteries, women usually do not feel the major pain in their chest that often characterize the shut down of larger arteries. The symptoms tend to be quite subtle. Perhaps a shortness of breath or a slight feeling of pressure occurs in the upper half of the body. Symptoms can occur in such disparate places as the jaw – also a point of stress or pain for men having heart attacks.

Women with microvascular disease will often experience symptoms over time. They often become sicker and sicker, resulting in numerous visits to the emergency room. What’s even more severe, they are at greater risk of dying within a few years if they are not treated properly.

It is thought by some researchers that hormonal changes associated with growing older may account for the malfunctioning of small blood vessels in women. The WISE study established the need for tests other than the angiogram to be performed. It established a questionnaire dealing with the performance of daily activities which could determine if a woman is at risk for a heart attack or not. If a woman is thought to be in danger, then she will be given a stress test, which measure the flow of the blood.

If a woman is experiencing any heart disease related symptoms, it is vital that she take action immediately and begin working with a physician. The earlier the symptoms are detected, the better the outcome will be. Heart disease’s groundwork is oftentimes laid before menopause by such factors as cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, excessive weight, and high blood pressure. These factors can all play a major role in the build up of plaque in the smaller arteries.

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