A Woman’s Heart Attack Causes, Symptoms Could Differ from a Man’s

A heart attack suffered by a woman could have different causes, symptoms and outcomes compared to those suffered by men.

That’s according to a new statement by the American Heart Association, which found that while the most common heart attack symptom for both men and women is chest pain or discomfort, women are more likely to have unlikely symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting.

These differences in symptoms were found to be even more significant in African American and Hispanic women. They also found that Hispanic women in particular, shared more heart-related factors such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure at the time of their heart attack compared to non-Hispanic white women.

The association hopes that these findings will help with prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases among women. They said heart disease currently affects 6.6 million American women annually and remains the leading threat to the lives of women.

The statement is the first by the association targeted towards heart attacks in women. They found a dramatic decline in cardiovascular deaths among women due to improved treatment and prevention of heart disease. They also credit the change to an increase of public awareness through campaigns such as “Go Red for Women.”

The study was published in the American Heart Association’s Journal, “Circulation.”