I received this in an e-mail. I do not know the author or the source, but I found it informational enough to pass on. This is something that I feel every woman needs to read! Please take the time to do so!
Here is a more detailed article on Heart Attacks for women, written by
one who had one:
I've meant to send this to my women friends to warn them that it's
true that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have
when experiencing a 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.
Having had a completely unexpected heart attack about 10:30 p.m.
with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would
suspect
might've brought it on, it was this past April,'06, about 1-1/2 hours
after I'd spent a pleasant 2 hrs. rehearsing with the Note-a-Belles.
I was sitting all snuggly & 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, which doesn't do much good, as your
esophagus and throat muscles are in spasm and it hurts to swallow.
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 that had
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 spasming), 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 a heart attack 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 footrest, 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 moment."
I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly
into
the next room and dialed the paramedics. I guess when one reaches
them,
your address automatically flashes on a screen, as the operator
verified
my address immediately and asked my symptoms.
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, ma'm. She
said
she was sending the paramedics over immediately, asked if the front
door
was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the
floor where they could see me when they came in. No, I didn't take an
aspirin, as I'm allergic to it, but I did take a 100 mg magnesium oxide
capsule...which bottle I keep handily in reach on the kitchen
counter...which is a small detour on my way to the front door...with
about a 3/4 glass of water to get it dissolving ASAP into my
bloodstream.
Magnesium relaxes blood vessels as it dissolves to get them
expanded to let blood get through the constriction of the vessels. I
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 cardiologist 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 two side-by-side stents to hold
open my right coronary artery and now was being taken into the CCU, and
looking up at the three anxious faces of Karen, Mark, and Wendy. Since
I'd been a patient at St. Jude in 2002 for my TIA treatment, they had
my
emergency info in their system and had called my kids. I spent two days
in CCU and two in general ward, and then was discharged.
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 stents.
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 firsthand, as a Certified Medical Back-Office Assistant in
Internal Medicine Clinics, and as one who has lived through a heart
attack due to:
1. Being aware that something very different was happening in my body
...not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening
(until 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 Maalox 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," Ladies. TIME IS OF THE
ESSENCE!
Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER. You're a hazard to others on
the
road, and so is your panicked husband/friend who will be speeding and
looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road, and
so are your kids or friends a hazard as well As sure as I sit here,
they
will get the attention of a cop who will pull you over for
speeding--more wasted time.
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 -- I did, and do, too. 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.) MI's
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 (and, of course, family genetics can be a factor. I qualify
for
the latter, and the years 2005 and 2006 have been the most stressful of
my life since Jack died in 1981.)
4. Read on for the e-mail I received today that prompted my above
lecture to you:
SUBJECT: Drinking ice water at mealtime (which I've always done until
now.)
Noting that neither Urban Legends nor Snopes has anything to say about
this one, it must be true. Interesting, if you've read it before,
re-read it.
It may save your life. Send it to your friends and family. It may
save
their lives....
This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your
meal, but about ladies and their heart attacks. This makes sense...the
Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals...not cold
water...maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!!
Nothing to lose--everything to gain...
For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to
you.
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold
water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will
slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the stomach's
hydrochloric acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine
faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon,
this
will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or
warm water after a meal. (Make it green tea--a great antioxidant!)
A serious note about heart attacks: Women should know that not every
heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of
intense pain in the jaw line, or even pressure there and under sternum,
or "indigestion" symptoms, especially if you haven't eaten in several
hours.
You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart
attack, but heaviness /pressure under the sternum is common.
Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms, but not
necessarily in the women. 60% of people who have heart attacks while
they are asleep do not wake up.
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.
