Heart attack symptoms aren鈥檛 the same for everyone 鈥� especially women 鈥� and one survivor, who has learned this firsthand, wants to spread the word in order to save lives. In a Twitter post that has since gone viral, a female nurse (Twitter name "gwheezie") shares the lesser-known heart attack symptoms she suffered leading up to her hospitalization. And, what she has to say is so important. 鈥淚 want to warn women our heart attacks feel different,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淟ast Sunday I had a heart attack. I had a 95% block in my left anterior descending artery. I鈥檓 alive because I called 911. I never had chest pain. It wasn鈥檛 what you read in pamphlets. I had it off & on for weeks.鈥� She explains that her symptoms included pain running across her upper back, shoulder blades and equally down both arms. 鈥淚t felt like burning & aching,鈥� she described in another tweet. 鈥淚 actually thought it was a muscle strain.鈥� It wasn鈥檛 until she was drenched in sweat and started vomiting that she called 911. 鈥淚鈥檓 a nurse. I鈥檓 an older woman. I had been spending the week helping my neighbor clean out her barn, I thought I strained some muscles,鈥� she continued in another tweet. 鈥淚 took Motrin & put a warm pack on my shoulders, I almost died because I didn鈥檛 call it chest pain.鈥漇he was taken by medics to a hospital that did cardiac catheterizations, including four stents that were placed in the hour after her arrival. Cardiac catheterization is a procedure done to identify a heart problem and diagnose heart disease. During cardiac catheterization, a catheter 鈥� a long tube 鈥� is inserted into an artery or vein in your groin, neck and arm, and is threaded to the blood vessels in your heart. Through this catheter, your doctor will run tests and identify where there are blockages. In gwheezie's case, her doctor placed four stents, which are small metal coils, in the clogged arteries to help clear the blockages and prevent narrowing. Just days later, gwheezie returned home and is currently 鈥渄oing really well.鈥� Gwheezie's tweet was shared more than 25,000 times, and many women responded to to her by sharing their own equally scary experiences with having heart attacks. While some people, like Laura Wright, attested to the fact that 鈥渟ometime鈥檚 women鈥檚 heart attacks feel very much like men鈥檚,鈥� with crushing chest pain, nausea and arm pain, others revealed they too had suffered unusual symptoms. One woman, Jennifer Laidlaw, shared her mother鈥檚 situation. She said she 鈥渨ent to the ER thinking it was really bad HEARTBURN,鈥� she wrote.Others mistook their symptoms as anxiety or thought they had "slept wrong" on their neck. Seven heart attacks symptoms women need to knowThis viral Twitter feed is an important reminder to listen to your body when it is sending you signs 鈥� and not to brush off any unusual symptoms as no big deal. In addition to chest pain, other heart attack symptoms in women can include:Extreme fatigueProfuse sweatingMild pain in regions of the body such as the breastbone, upper back, shoulders, neck or jawNausea or dizzinessBreathlessnessSleeplessnessAnxietyLearn more about heart attack symptoms in women on the American Heart Association. If you think you might be suffering from a heart attack, call 911 immediately.
Heart attack symptoms aren鈥檛 the same for everyone 鈥� especially women 鈥� and one survivor, who has learned this firsthand, wants to spread the word in order to save lives. In a Twitter post that has since gone viral, a female nurse (Twitter name "gwheezie") shares the lesser-known heart attack symptoms she suffered leading up to her hospitalization. And, what she has to say is so important.
鈥淚 want to warn women our heart attacks feel different,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淟ast Sunday I had a heart attack. I had a 95% block in my left anterior descending artery. I鈥檓 alive because I called 911. I never had chest pain. It wasn鈥檛 what you read in pamphlets. I had it off & on for weeks.鈥�
She explains that her symptoms included pain running across her upper back, shoulder blades and equally down both arms. 鈥淚t felt like burning & aching,鈥� she described in another tweet. 鈥淚 actually thought it was a muscle strain.鈥� It wasn鈥檛 until she was drenched in sweat and started vomiting that she called 911.
鈥淚鈥檓 a nurse. I鈥檓 an older woman. I had been spending the week helping my neighbor clean out her barn, I thought I strained some muscles,鈥� she continued in another tweet. 鈥淚 took Motrin & put a warm pack on my shoulders, I almost died because I didn鈥檛 call it chest pain.鈥�
She was taken by medics to a hospital that did cardiac catheterizations, including four stents that were placed in the hour after her arrival. Cardiac catheterization is a procedure done to identify a heart problem and diagnose heart disease. During , a catheter 鈥� a long tube 鈥� is inserted into an artery or vein in your groin, neck and arm, and is threaded to the blood vessels in your heart. Through this catheter, your doctor will run tests and identify where there are blockages. In gwheezie's case, her doctor placed four stents, which are small metal coils, in the clogged arteries to help clear the blockages and prevent narrowing. Just days later, gwheezie returned home and is currently 鈥渄oing really well.鈥�
Gwheezie's tweet was shared more than 25,000 times, and many women responded to to her by sharing their own equally scary experiences with having heart attacks. While some people, like Laura Wright, attested to the fact that 鈥渟ometime鈥檚 [sic] women鈥檚 heart attacks feel very much like men鈥檚,鈥� with crushing , nausea and arm pain, others revealed they too had suffered unusual symptoms.
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One woman, Jennifer Laidlaw, shared her mother鈥檚 situation. She said she 鈥渨ent to the ER thinking it was really bad HEARTBURN,鈥� she wrote.
Others mistook their symptoms as anxiety or thought they had "slept wrong" on their neck.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from Twitter.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Seven heart attacks symptoms women need to know
This viral Twitter feed is an important reminder to listen to your body when it is sending you signs 鈥� and not to brush off any unusual symptoms as no big deal. In addition to chest pain, other heart attack symptoms in women can include:
- Profuse sweating
- Mild pain in regions of the body such as the breastbone, upper back, shoulders, neck or jaw
- Nausea or dizziness
- Breathlessness
- Sleeplessness
Learn more about on the American Heart Association. If you think you might be suffering from a heart attack, call 911 immediately.