Heart Attack Signs and Symptoms You Shouldn't Ignore

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Sharon thought she knew the signs of a heart attack. But what she didn’t know was that her symptoms might be different than those experienced by a man. Because Sharon didn’t feel crushing chest pain, which she knew was a common sign, she disregarded her minor pain as just that—minor.

“Because women’s symptoms are not always overt, sometimes the sense of urgency isn’t there,” Yancy says. “And women aren’t getting over the thought of, ‘No, that can’t happen to me.’”

While it is acknowledged that women often experience different heart attack symptoms than men, cardiologists don’t yet know why the difference occurs. And there is a good amount of symptom overlap between the sexes. For both men and women, chest pain or discomfort is the most common heart attack symptom. But women are more likely than men to experience other symptoms, such as nausea or vomiting, back or jaw pain, and shortness of breath.

Yancy says there are no good explanations for the differences in the way the heart attack presents itself by gender or for the differences in the pattern of blockages in the coronary arteries that leads to heart attacks. He says physicians’ interpretations of certain diagnostic tests even differ because of the varying expectations in their outcomes. “Fortunately, most contemporary physicians are very much aware of these variations and better care is now available for women,” Yancy says.

There are also some sociological differences between the genders in response to a heart attack: According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, women are less likely than men to believe that they’re having a heart attack, and they’re more likely to delay seeking emergency treatment. Women, on average, are also about 10 years older than men when they have a heart attack.

Regardless, knowing the full range of symptoms for both men and women could save a life—possibly yours.