Women with acute myocardial infarction come to the hospital up to 70 minutes later than men. This resulted in a study.
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This time delay is so alarming because cardiac muscle cells die with each heart attack.
But why are women being treated so late? Because her symptoms are often not as clear on a heart attack as in men.
This is also confirmed by Prof. Dr. med. Georg Sabin, senior cardiologist at the International Heart and Vascular Center Rhine-Ruhr in Essen: "Two thirds of all infarction patients had symptoms that were misinterpreted in advance."
Already weeks and months before the heart attack can cause nonspecific symptoms. Characteristic: The heart itself does not hurt. "What many people perceive as heartache usually has another cause, such as increased blood pressure, " says Prof. Dr. med. Sabin.
And explains what signs women should visit a cardiologist for safety:
"Pain and discomfort arising from the rest are questionable". The complaints last a few minutes and disappear again. Frequently, affected women wake up sweaty in the early morning, suffering from respiratory distress despite the lack of exercise. In addition, in women often pulling pain in the shoulder blades.
"One speaks also of the orthopedic heart attack ", says Prof. Dr. med. Sabin. The pain in the upper back arises because vessels are poorly supplied with blood - and that can herald an impending infarct. "
Also, jaw pain caused by poorly perfused vessels. Like the shoulder pain they appear for a short time and disappear quickly - to come back soon.
Many women complain of pain in the upper abdomen before the heart attack . Nausea and vomiting often occur, and diarrhea is a common side effect.
Incidentally, most infarctions occur early in the morning. Because at this time of day, the body produces the most stress hormones that can ultimately trigger the infarction acutely.
