OT: Women's heart attacks - important information
I received this at work and thought that it was too valuable not to share with the women I've met on this forum. I think that we need to take this to heart - pun intended. I'm not posting it to frighten you, but, hopefully, to give you information that may save your life.
Margaret
NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE
I am an ER nurse and this is the best description of this event that I have ever heard. Please read, pay attention, and send it on!
Diane K. in A
FEMALE HEART ATTACKS
I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.
Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction). Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack .you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's
experience with a heart attack.
'I had a heart attack at about 10 :30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.
A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.
After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).
This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!
I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else ... but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment.
I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics ... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in. I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my
heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.
'I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stints.
'Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.'
1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening ****il my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Mallox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!
2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road.
Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.
Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.
3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive.
These were my symptoms exactly. At age 47 I was sitting on the couch watching tv when I slowly started having this sensation of indigestion which blossomed into the golf ball feeling in the throat. I chewed a couple of antacids and went to lie down, realized within a minute or two that the pain was getting worse and was now into both arms and especially my elbows. I went to get up from the bed and passed out. I was very lucky in that my daughter was there at the time and called the paramedics. I was given TCP at the hospital and had triple bypass surgery the next day. Prior to this heart attack my cholesterol was 190, BP was 120/70 and I'm not diabetic, however I smoked like a chimney and at that time was 150 pounds overweight. It has been 15 years since that night and I have not had any symptoms since. Thanks to wls I have been able to lose most of that excess weight and I quit smoking the day of my heart attack. So, God willing, I will be able to live a long healthier life, although the thought of having another heart attack is always in the back of my mind. It is a very traumatic event as anyone who has had a brush with death will tell you. Take care ladies and heed the warning signs.
Barbara
Thanks for concurring with this information. I think that it's vital to know that the research regarding heart attacks has been done mostly on men and that their symptoms are not necessarily our symptoms.
I know that in the past I have been reluctant to call an ambulance, like others, because I usually thought that whatever was happening to me wasn't bad enough - I might impose on the doctors, take up valuable time that should be given to others, etc. Living on my own has made it even harder because there is no one else to make that decision. However, I am taking this information seriously and I will call an ambulance if I begin to feel unusual symptoms.
By the way, a 56 year old acquaintance of mine was having chest pains this week, decided to drive himself to the hospital and died alone on the way. I don't know if he could have been saved, but making the phone call for an ambulance just might have been worth it.
That is so sad that he drove himself. we shouldnt do that
I had funny little burning pains across my chest, starting on right side, moving to left. One day i felt a shot down my left arm, then said 'was that a pain in my left arm? ... mentioned the pain to my doc who sent me for a stress test. I had an 80% blockage and had a stent put in immediately. he told me that i just narrowly missed having a massive heart attack.
women do for everyone else, time to do for us.
Linda
Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel
that you, too, can become great." ..... MarkTwain
this is wonderful info--and so many of us -particularly women- tend to dismiss feelings and think they will go away (brenda-are you reading this?? diff symptoms but still!!!!)
i have had two very nasty anxiety attacks in which i was sure i was dying....and they were more like the typical heart racing , sweating, stabbing pains type of thing--
we all need to heed this info! again thank you!!!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White
Thanks so much for posting this~this is something so important to remember.
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter
that tells what kind of life you have lived.
