Read time: 2 minutes
There's a common misunderstanding that breast cancer is the biggest threat to women's health and lifespan. The reality is that coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many Australian women as breast cancer, and around 20 women die of it every day. Heart disease is still thought of as a male problem, and as a result women can experience delays in getting lifesaving treatment. Sometimes that's because women don't recognise the symptoms, and sometimes it's because health professionals miss them.
The other important factor is that the classic symptoms of a heart attack, like central chest pain going down the left arm, are more typical of men than women. While women do experience a heart attack in this way, the symptoms are often more subtle yet just as important to identify.
The symptoms are often more subtle yet just as important to identify.
Here are some of the patterns which, if they last for 10 minutes, indicate the need to call 000 and get to hospital as quickly as possible. Chest pain is the most common heart attack symptom in women, as it is in men, but women are more likely than men to experience:
- Pain in the back, shoulders, arms or jaw
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Indigestion
- Sweating
- Nausea or vomiting
Research has found that even when women recognise they're having a heart attack, they delay calling for an ambulance because they want to sort things out at home beforehand.
The message is act quickly. There's no time to be lost, and it needs to be an ambulance rather than a car. That's about being able to receive lifesaving assistance in transit, and the speed of getting into the ward on arrival.
The Heart Foundation has more information for women and professionals.
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