What Are the Symptoms of a Heart Attack in Women?
Updated: Jan 7, 2025
Chest pain is common, but so are less obvious signs.
It’s a common misconception that heart disease primarily affects men. But heart disease is the number one cause of death among women in the United States.
Heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. However, only about half of American women are aware that heart disease is their greatest health threat.
“Even when women do have warning signs of a heart attack, they often are very different than the symptoms men experience,” says Poulina Uddin, MD, a cardiologist with Scripps Women’s Heart Center. “Both men and women may feel chest pain or break out in a cold sweat during a heart attack, but that is where most of the similarities end.”
Heart attack symptoms in women
Women tend to have subtler symptoms, and they may begin up to a month before the heart
attack. Symptoms may include:
Shortness of breath
Unusual sweating, nausea or vomiting
Pain that spreads to the upper body, neck or jaw
Pressure, or tightness in the center of the chest
Sudden dizziness
Fatigue or weakness
Unusual tiredness
Problems sleeping
Women may not take these symptoms seriously because they can resemble common illnesses such as the flu. This assumption can be a serious mistake, and it could even be fatal.
If you experience these symptoms, don’t ignore them. Play it safe and call 911. Taking immediate action can save your life.
Don’t drive yourself or let a friend drive you to the hospital. Paramedics can provide medical assistance while taking you to an emergency room. Remember, the sooner you get treatment, the greater the chances of recovery.
What you can do
Even if you think your heart is healthy, get screened for heart disease, especially if you have a family history of heart problems, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. The more risk factors you have, the higher your risk of heart disease.
“Women also have risk factors that don’t affect men, such as developing diabetes or high blood pressure during pregnancy,” says Dr. Uddin. “Also, hormones, such as estrogen, may play a role in protecting women from heart disease; after menopause, that protection disappears.”
Make an appointment with your physician to discuss your heart health and establish a
baseline. Learn to adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle now and minimize your risk of problems in the future.
Risk factors for heart disease you can’t control
There are many risk factors that you can’t control, including:
Age and menopause
Women tend to develop heart disease around 10 years later than men. This is because women produce estrogen, a hormone that offers some defense against heart disease prior to the onset of menopause.
Family history
A family history of heart disease can raise your risk of heart disease. It may be because your family carries genes that raise your risk.
Pregnancy history
High blood pressure, diabetes, and preeclampsia during pregnancy can increase your chances of developing heart disease later in life.
Race and ethnicity
African Americans are at higher risk of heart disease due to factors like high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Black Americans, especially women, may also be less likely than others to receive preventive treatment, including medicines to lower blood pressure.
Risk factors you can control
There are many risk factors that you can control, including:
Quit smoking. Smoking causes heart disease and can even be more dangerous for women than men.
Eat healthy, which can prevent problems that lead to heart disease, including high blood pressure or obesity.
Limit how much alcohol you drink.
Exercise regularly. Physical activity can also prevent high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
Manage stress in healthy ways.
Get an annual physical exam.
Healthy Life is brought to you by the physicians and staff of Scripps Health. For more information, or for a physician referral, visit www.scripps.org or call 1-800-Scripps.
Such an important and eye-opening read! Women’s heart attack symptoms can be so subtle and different from the typical signs, so raising awareness about this is huge. After taking in all this important health info, I usually take a quick mental breather on minigame with a few free casual games. It’s super convenient since you can just click and play directly without downloading anything. A nice way to unwind and de-stress!
This is a really eye-opening read. It is quite alarming that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, yet so few are actually aware of it. I had no idea that subtle warning signs like indigestion, severe fatigue, or sleeping issues could show up a whole month before a heart attack happens. Between managing work, family, and uni deadlines like sorting out Mathcad Assignment Help Australia late at night it is so easy for women to just brush off feeling unwell as simple stress or flu. It definitely makes you reflect on how often we ignore what our bodies are trying to tell us. Thanks for sharing such an important reminder!
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Really helpful article. I didn’t realise that heart attack symptoms in women can sometimes be quite different from the usual signs people expect. The information here is a good reminder to listen to your body and take unusual symptoms seriously. Clear and easy-to-understand articles like this are valuable because they help readers become more aware of their health.
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Sometimes recognizing these health warning signs can be as vague and requires astute observation as solving vocabulary puzzles in Quordle every morning—a single oversight can lead to missing a crucial clue. Hopefully, everyone, especially women, will not take their heart health for granted!