Women and Heart Attacks: Symptoms
Submitted by Barbara Saltarella
Today women are living stressful lives. With taking care of your family, jobs, care giving to other family members, and taking a little time for yourself, women are more susceptible to heart attacks than ever before.
We may know the symptoms of male heart attacks ‑ squeezing chest pain, shortness of breath, and nausea. Some women who are having a heart attack experience chest pain or discomfort, but not all women do. In fact, as it turns out, the symptoms of female heart attacks can be quite different, so it is important that all women learn the warning signs.
Women are more likely than men to have signs and symptoms unrelated to chest pain including:1
1. Neck, shoulder, upper back, or abdominal discomfort
2. Shortness of breath
3. General weakness
4. Unusual fatigue
5. Sweating
6. Nausea or vomiting
7. Dizziness
8. Lower chest discomfort
9. Upper abdominal pressure or discomfort that feels like indigestion
These signs and symptoms are more subtle than the obvious crushing chest pain often associated with heart attacks. This may be because women tend to have blockages not only in their main arteries, but also in the smaller arteries that supply blood to the heart — a condition called small vessel heart disease.
Be aware of these symptoms and call 911 if you experience a cluster of these symptoms.
1 “Heart disease in women: Understand symptoms and risk factors,” Mayo Clinic Staff, www.MayoClinic.com
Hand Sanitizers
Barbara Saltarella
We are all being cautious today because of the seasonal flu virus including H1N1. But the question being asked is should you wash with soap and water or coat your hands with disinfecting gel from one of those dispensers that are popping up in offices, wash rooms, stores, hallways, and churches.
If your hands are not grimy, the best way to clean them is to use hand sanitizer, James Scott, a microbiologist at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health tells us. He says that hand sanitizers reduce the bacterial burden to a greater extent than soap and water, and your hands stay cleaner longer than when you use soap and water.
However, don’t use hand sanitizers instead of soap and water. Wash your hands often with soap and water, and then use hand sanitizer wherever you go. I keep hand sanitizer in my car and purse. Sometimes when I am visiting members and friends of WUMC, I keep a small container of hand sanitizer in my pocket.