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Last Updated: Jan 10, 2023
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Heart Attack in Women - Things You Must Know!

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Dr. Viveka KumarCardiologist • 35 Years Exp.DM - Cardiology -, MD - General Medicine - , MBBS, FSCAI, MHRS, FACC, FESC , Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology & EP, Interventional Cardiology & EP and Devices, Senior Specialist( Interventional Cardiology), Fellow of southeast Asian Interventional Cardiology Society, International Award of Excellence in Cardiology
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Women, who have been thinking that cardiac diseases are something that doesn’t need much attention, then you have tragically mistaken. As a matter of fact, these are the diseases which most women aren’t too aware of. However, it is affecting a lot of women all over the world. The most common issue in cardiology, particularly among women is a heart attack. The first thing that we should know is that Cardiovascular diseases like  heart attack are killing as many women as men.

Almost more than 25,000 women are dying all over India every year from a heart attack or other coronary heart diseases. The ratio results show that women are suffering from heart attack three times more than that of breast cancer. The main reason that creates this higher toll is that the disease may be different in women. However, in the case of men, it stays more localised. In the case of women, the disease is diffused and spread out, but it can be treated. 

You cannot seek immunity only through pills:
We should be aware of the fact that pills will help you to curb the chance of having a heart attack, but again doctors claim that the risk does hike quite significantly after the menopause in women. The pills in such case can create various side effects and eventually trigger more cardiac diseases. The formation of clots in blood are created by different kinds of hormonal contraception, which is the main reason for a potential heart attack in women.

Heart attack symptoms in women:
We all know that the classic heart attack symptoms include severe pressure on the chest and extreme chest pain. However, these symptoms can be quite subtle in case of women. So, here we are listing down 4 of the most common symptoms of heart attack for women and those are:

  1. Fatigue
  2. Shortness of breath
  3. Throat pain and jaw pain
  4. Pain in arms may be in one or both

If you experience any one of these symptoms even, make sure that you go for a check immediately. Take quicker action as each minute that goes on during a heart attack is creating the death of a heart muscle.

Smoking doubles the risk of a heart attack in women
According to experts in cardiology, the most important fact that triggers a heart attack in women is smoking, which increases the blood pressure and causes the blood to pile up in your blood vessels, reducing the good HDL cholesterol which clots the blood and eventually results in a heart attack.

You must be wondering about the favourable chances of having a heart attack for women. The fifth and final thing to know about a heart attack is that women who are weighing thirty pounds or more have more chances of heart attack. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a cardiologist.

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