---
title: "Heart Attack Symptoms in Women: 4 Silent Signs You Shouldn't Ignore"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/33ff159e-c9e6-49bd-a8fc-ac68ce03fc75
source_url: "https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/a70396127/heart-attack-symptoms-women/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_ghk&utm_medium=email&date=072826&utm_campaign=nl01_072826_GHK46755404&oo=&user_email=4f278ba362724ea742a064df1a3f9cd4e403173a832d143d975ea40457800fd9&GID=4f278ba362724ea742a064df1a3f9cd4e403173a832d143d975ea40457800fd9&utm_term=GHK%20Flagship%20Sending%20Audience"
stack: https://stacklist.com/stack/7c7a5e0e-8dc8-4404-8494-0a0d5b649105
summary: "Heart attack symptoms in women differ significantly from the dramatic presentations often depicted in media, with fatigue, nausea, and discomfort being common indicators rather than just chest pain. Understanding these warning signs is critical since heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, and younger women are increasingly affected."
tags: "heart-attack, women-health, cardiovascular-disease, symptoms, medical-awareness, diagnosis"
key_entities: "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (organization), American Heart Association (organization), Judith Lichtman (person), Yale School of Public Health (organization), Karol Watson (person), David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (organization), myocardial infarction (concept), United States (location)"
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# Heart Attack Symptoms in Women: 4 Silent Signs You Shouldn't Ignore

J Studios // Getty Images 8 min read You’ve seen it over and over: A male character in a movie or on a TV show is having sex, yelling at someone, playing sports, or even riding a Peloton. All of a sudden, he stops cold. He goes pale, staggers, clutches his chest, left arm, or both, then dramatically slides down a wall and crumples onto the floor. You hardly ever see women having a heart attack in pop culture, even though almost as many women die from heart disease as men in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . In fact, h eart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. In 2023, heart disease killed one in five American women. And it’s not only older women: the number of younger women dying or hospitalized for a heart attack has been growing . New research from the American Heart Association predicts six in 10 U.S. women will have some form of cardiovascular disease by the year 2050. If you did see a woman experiencing heart attack symptoms in real life, it is likely to look something like this: Two friends are out strolling, when one says she’s just feeling like “something isn’t right” and suggests they sit for a minute. According to Judith Lichtman, Ph.D., MPH , the Susan Dwight Bliss professor and chair of the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, you'd see a woman who feels abnormally tired and really not up to her usual pace. She isn't feeling right, but she might not notice common heart attack symptoms: Chest pressure, tightness, palpitations, or sharp pain Nausea, indigestion, stomach pain, or some acid reflux Discomfort in arms, neck, jaw, or back Fatigue Shortness of breath Dizziness or fainting Cold sweat and paleness But because she’s feeling other symptoms in addition to chest pain or discomfort, the woman may well attribute these symptoms to exhaustion or the flu and go home to take a nap—unless her friend is astute and alarmed enough to call 911. And it’s not only the woman herself who may not know she’s having a heart attack. Lichtman’s research suggest that, perhaps because younger women present with more symptoms than men their age, often neither the woman nor her doctors initially think it’s a heart attack—even though chest pain is the main symptom. What exactly is a heart attack? “A heart attack is anytime your heart doesn’t receive enough blood to stay healthy,” says Karol Watson, M.D., Ph.D. , a cardiologist and professor of medicine/cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “The heart is a muscle, and just like any muscle, requires a constant blood supply to stay healthy and strong,” she says. “If an area of the heart is deprived of blood for any length of time, it can weaken and die, and when it does, that’s a heart attack.” Blood supply to your heart is most commonly reduced when a coronary artery becomes blocked by plaque and clot. However, in some cases, particularly in women, reduced blood flow can also occur without a major blockage, such as when smaller heart vessels don’t function properly or when arteries temporarily tighten. There can also be blood clotting around the plaque, which makes it hard for the blood to get to your heart. And once an area of the heart dies, says Dr. Watson, it cannot come back. (Although the rest of the heart may be able to step up and compensate for the damaged area.) What are the first warning signs of a heart attack in a woman? When a woman is having a heart attack, one of the first things she may notice is that she’s feeling incredibly tired —more tired than the usual work-kids-I’m-in-charge-of-everything kind of tired. “There’s very good information on what premonitory symptoms that women had prior to being diagnosed, and the most common is overwhelming fatigue,” says Dr. Watson. You might not think you’re having a heart attack when you feel this way, because it could be something else—and frankly, who hasn’t felt totally wiped? But here’s the thing: “It’s almost always accompanied by something else: chest pain, chest pressure, shortness of breath, indigestion,” says Dr. Watson. Fatigue might not be the most prominent symptom, so it’s important to look at the totality of what you’re feeling . “If you have overwhelming fatigue and any of those other things, that’s a sign that something is off,” she says. The four "silent" symptoms of a heart attack In addition to extreme fatigue, these are key warning signs of a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association, according to the American Heart Association . Note that you may not have all of them: Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of your chest, lasting more than a few minutes or going away and coming back Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, vomiting, or lightheadedness Add Good Housekeeping as a preferred source in your Google search results. Use your Google account to add this to your settings. Add to Google settings All of these signs are "silent," in the sense that they are easy to ignore—especially if you don’t want to believe you’re having a heart attack. Another reason people think of them as silent signs of a heart attack is that, individually, these symptoms could all be attributed to other conditions. The chest pain, in particular, may not be the dramatic, elephant-on-my-chest stereotypical “male” movie-style heart attack pain, Lichtman says. And the sheer number of these ambiguous symptoms may be one of the reasons many women don’t know they’re having a heart attack , according to Lichtman’s research. There are other things bothering them, so they blow off the “chest pain or pressure” symptom, says Lichtman. But when some or all of these symptoms are there at the same time, that’s exactly what a heart attack looks like in women. And when you think about it, any kind of pain or discomfort in the chest should be treated as a “loud” symptom. Whether it’s more like tightness or pressure or feels like a sharp pain, all of that counts as chest pain . “Chest pain is still the biggest common symptom of heart attack that both men and women experience, around 80% to 90%, depending on how you collect the information,” Lichtman says. How long can a woman have symptoms or signs of blockage before a heart attack occurs? Is it possible to walk around with heart attack symptoms for a period of time? Yes, but for how long is “impossible to state,” says Dr. Watson. “Every woman is different.” That’s why if there are any worrisome symptoms, it’s best to get them checked as soon as possible. “ The symptoms that should send you directly to get checked out are chest pain, shortness of breath, or fainting,” she says. As for knowing whether your blood vessels to your heart are becoming blocked, unfortunately, says Dr. Watson, you probably won’t. “It’s really hard to know pre-symptoms,” she says, though you and your healthcare provider can be on the lookout if she knows your family history and is monitoring your cholesterol , blood pressure, and other heart disease risk factors . “What you are going to really feel are the symptoms," Dr. Watson says. Most people don’t have clear warning symptoms before a heart attack. However, your physician can help assess your risk over time by monitoring factors such as cholesterol and blood pressure and, in some cases, using tools like coronary calcium scoring. What women need to know that’s different from men “For a long time, there was a sense that women didn’t have the chest pain that men do, and that’s not true,” says Lichtman. The number one thing women need to know is that chest pain or pressure is, in fact, one of the symptoms (even if it’s not the biggest or most obvious symptom). “My rule is, if you have any symptoms between your navel and your nose, that comes on with exertion and goes away with rest, you have to think about your heart,” says Dr. Watson. For a long time, there was a sense that women didn’t have chest pain as men do, and that’s not true The other thing women need to know that’s different from men is that they may have multiple symptoms, and not to disregard the fact that chest pain is one of them. Why? “I think it’s a combination of things,” Lichtman says. “In the back of people’s minds, especially with younger women, people would rather have something else be the cause than a heart attack,” she says. “They’d much rather it be, say, indigestion over a heart attack,” so they tend to focus on the less dire possibilities. Doctors, too, may not think “heart attack” when they hear chest pain as just one of many symptoms. “It’s different for different providers, but for some, the order in which you hear [the symptoms] is the order of intensity,” she says. So if a woman lists chest pressure as third or fourth on the list, it may take the doctor longer to think of a heart attack. Outcomes after a heart attack can be worse for women in certain settings, due to a combination of factors such as differences in symptom recognition, delays in care, and underlying risk profiles. What should you do if you have symptoms of a heart attack? Call 911 ASAP . Calling 911 fast if you show symptoms of a heart attack is one thing you can control. One Swiss study found that women wait almost 40 minutes longer to call for help than men do, perhaps because they don’t recognize the symptoms. Calling 911 is recommended in an emergency. Emergency medical services can begin treatment right away and alert the hospital in advance, which can shorten the time to diagnosis and life-saving care. Lead with chest pain or pressure when you get to the hospital and the doctor asks about your symptoms. Even if you have other symptoms, “Put that out first rather than burying it,” advises Lichtman. Don’t play down what you’re feeling. “Be the squeaky wheel,” says Dr. Watson. Lichtman has done research showing that younger women who need care for a heart attack often don’t want to look alarmist. “Don’t feel bad or think that you don’t want to disturb anyone," Dr. Watson says. "This is our job to save your life.” The bottom line Women tend to have more but less dramatic symptoms than men when they're having a heart attack, which women, and their doctors, sometimes assume is something else. It may take longer for a heart attack to be considered, particularly when symptoms are varied or less classic. If you are having heart attack symptoms, call 911 right away. Medically reviewed by Rigved Tadwalkar, M.D., M.S., FACC, FACP Rigved Tadwalkar, M.D., is a consultant cardiologist with the Pacific Heart Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Physicians, and is board-certified in cardiovascular disease, echocardiography, cardiovascular CT, nuclear cardiology, and internal medicine. His clinical interests encompass the full spectrum of cardiovascular disease and include digital health, multimodality imaging, interventional echocardiography, diagnostic catheterization, and prevention.  Dr. Tadwalkar is an emerging voice in the field, cited in a variety of leading healthcare media on the latest topics. He has been elected to the Super Doctors “Rising Stars” list annually, and selected as a top doctor by Los Angeles Magazine . Dr. Tadwalkar received his M.D. from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., M.S. in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University and his B.A. from the University of Southern California in Biological Sciences and Sociology. He finished his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the West Los Angeles VA Hospital. He thereafter accepted a faculty teaching position at UCLA as a Clinical Instructor at the David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Tadwalkar’s enthusiasm for cardiovascular medicine throughout his career led him to fellowship at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. His accomplishment in this role was highlighted with several awards, including the Excellence in Cardiology Fellowship Award from the Cardiovascular Research Foundation of Southern California. During his final year of training, Dr. Tadwalkar served as chief cardiology fellow, where he managed day-to-day operations for fellows in his program, including educational and clinical activities. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Readers Also Read Presented by Lipton Tea Experts Say Eat This for Heart Health Cyclospora Risk Is Far From Over The Ultimate Mediterranean Diet Grocery List What Does Your Heartbeat Say About Your Health? Advertisement - Continue Reading Below "Grandma Jeans" Are Cool Again Garlic Powder Recalled Due to Bacteria Alert: Popular Toaster Ovens Recalled Is It Safe to Eat Lettuce? 9 Best Bra Deals From Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale How to Clean a Dishwasher Like a Pro How to Get Rid of Chest Congestion Fast Should You Try Milk Thistle? Experts Explain Advertisement - Continue Reading Below