Other factors are sedentary lifestyle, obesity and type 2 diabetes, a condition in which sugar is not metabolized properly. Women at risk for diabetes should have a fasting blood sugar test. In addition, the metabolic syndrome, which is defined by, among other characteristics, increased waist size (greater than 35 inches), high blood pressure and glucose intolerance, or high blood sugar, dramatically raises risk of heart disease. Women need to be proactive and know what their numbers are in terms of the risk factors. If their doctor hasn't checked a number yet, then they should ask for that test.
What are some of the typical symptoms women experience during a heart attack?
Heart attack symptoms can be varied, and women and men need to know that most individuals do not have the "Hollywood heart attack," where they clutch their chest and fall over and die. Symptoms are usually not that dramatic, and it's very important that people don't wait until they have such serious symptoms to seek care, otherwise it may be too late.
The primary symptom that men and women experience is chest discomfort. This discomfort doesn't have to be severe pain; it can be pressure that radiates up to the neck and may radiate into the back or shoulders or down the arm. Shortness of breath, nausea, fatigue, light-headedness and palpitations—the heart seems to be racing—are other symptoms. Nausea and shortness of breath can be particularly prominent symptoms in women. That may be part of the reason why it's been tough to diagnosis women early. Women may have a little chest pressure, but they're focusing on the nausea and the physician starts going down that path.
