3 Things Every Woman Should Know about Heart Attacks

Heart disease has historically been thought of as a man's disease, but it turns out that it is the number-one killer of women. We bring you the bottom line on everything you should know about women, and heart disease. Hi, I'm Pilar Gerasimo with a Bottom Line Expert report on what every woman should know about heart disease. I'm here with Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, the director of Women's Heart Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Steinbaum, what should every woman know about heart disease? Heart disease is the number-one killer of all women, greater than all cancers combined. It is critical for all women to understand that 80% to 90% of the time, heart disease is preventable. So if she knows her family history and pays attention to her risk factors, she can actually prevent heart disease from happening to her. Let's talk for a minute about heart attacks specifically. What are the differences in the symptoms between men and women? Men oftentimes get chest pain—it's very classic. In women, we know that two weeks before a heart event, very often there might be sleep disturbances or flulike symptoms or even shortness of breath or chest discomfort. And during a heart attack, one of the most common symptoms is shortness of breath or chest pain. There could be jaw pain, back pain, arm pain, nausea and, again, that flulike symptom. But if a woman finds herself having difficulty doing things that she used to do...if these symptoms develop during that...then she needs to go see her doctor, because maybe something is wrong with her heart. What about women's incessant need to take care of everybody else—does that play a factor in all of this? Women are under an exorbitant amount of stress today. It is so important that she pays attention to her health and her heart, and reaches out not only to doctors but for support, whether it from friends, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists. Sometimes women ignore all symptoms, and in women, depression, which is very, very common, is something that is dismissed. Women need to put themselves first, before they can take care of anyone else. The bottom line on women and heart disease is that women's symptoms are often very different, so make sure your doctor is keeping an eye on them, and so are you. For more advice on a healthier life, go to BottomLineHealth.com.