Warning as heart attack symptom often mistaken for 'indigestion' and stress

Heart onslaught symptoms tin beryllium antithetic for men and women and galore often place the informing signs that they're having an onslaught arsenic they deliberation it's indigestion oregon stress

Crushing thorax symptom and breathlessness are often the archetypal signs that outpouring to caput erstwhile reasoning of a bosom attack. But 1 adept has warned that patients often disregard subtler but arsenic fatal reddish flags, portion mistaking them for indigestion oregon adjacent stress.

The concerning inclination is peculiarly existent for women, according to Dr Lawrence Cunningham, a retired GP astatine UK Care Guide, who argued that our thought of bosom attacks is mostly based connected antheral symptoms. "In my experience, women often bash thin to place oregon misinterpret bosom onslaught symptoms," helium antecedently told the Express.

"There are respective reasons for this, successful my opinion. Traditionally, the archetype of a bosom attack—a sudden, crushing thorax pain—has been based connected men's experiences. "However, women often acquisition little emblematic symptoms similar nausea, fatigue, oregon shortness of breath. These tin beryllium easy mistaken for different ailments.

"Cultural and intelligence factors besides play a role; women mightiness beryllium much inclined to prioritise others' needs implicit their ain health, delaying seeking help." The British Heart Foundation (BHF) reported successful 2019 that portion thorax symptom remains the astir communal bosom onslaught grounds for some sexes, women are much apt to endure from nausea and symptom spreading to the jaw oregon back, whereas men whitethorn acquisition symptoms akin to acerb reflux.

Another BHF report from the aforesaid twelvemonth shone a airy connected startling sex disparities successful bosom onslaught attraction wrong the UK too. Several unsafe factors were linked to this sex gap, including a deficiency of consciousness and misdiagnosis successful hospitals.

A shocking statistic revealed that women are 50% much apt to beryllium wrongly diagnosed during a bosom attack, arsenic per this report. It added that 'both men and women who are initially misdiagnosed person a 70% higher hazard of dying'.

Findings besides showed that hazard factors for bosom illness - the starring origin of attacks - are much deadly for women. This particularly regards precocious blood pressure which reportedly increases a woman's bosom onslaught hazard 80% much than a man's.

Unfortunately, the concern remains dire. Last year, the European Society of Cardiology legislature highlighted that women are doubly arsenic apt to dice post-heart onslaught compared to men. Dr Mariana Martinho from Portugal's Hospital Garcia de Orta commented: "The findings are different reminder of the request for greater consciousness of the risks of bosom illness successful women.

"More probe is required to recognize wherefore determination is sex disparity successful prognosis aft myocardial infarction truthful that steps tin beryllium taken to adjacent the spread successful outcomes."

Reflecting connected these concerning trends, Dr Cunningham emphasised the necessity for consciousness astir 'silent' bosom attacks arsenic well. These are typically painless events that hap successful 20 to 60% of cases, according to Cleveland Clinic.

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"These tin hap without the classical grounds of thorax pain," helium explained. "In my experience, I've encountered patients who had nary thought they'd experienced a bosom onslaught until a regular check-up oregon consequent complications revealed it. This tin hap owed to however the bosom onslaught manifests, affecting antithetic nerves and areas of the heart.

"I ever urge being vigilant astir symptoms specified arsenic thorax discomfort - not needfully symptom - shortness of breath, nausea, light-headedness, oregon discomfort successful the back, neck, jaw, oregon arms. It's important to wage attraction to these signs, particularly if they are antithetic for you.

"It's captious to rise consciousness astir these differences successful symptoms and promote proactive healthcare behaviours among women. Regular check-ups and a bully knowing of idiosyncratic hazard factors tin marque a important difference. Remember, aboriginal detection and attraction are key."

The NHS' afloat list of imaginable bosom onslaught symptoms is elaborate below:

• Pain successful different parts of the assemblage – it tin consciousness arsenic if the symptom is spreading from your thorax to your arms (usually the near arm, but it tin impact some arms), jaw, neck, backmost and tummy
• Feeling lightheaded oregon dizzy
• Sweating
• Coughing oregon wheezing
• Chest symptom – a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness oregon squeezing crossed your chest
• Feeling sick (nausea) oregon being sick (vomiting)
• An overwhelming feeling of anxiousness (similar to a panic attack)
• Shortness of breath