If you are female your symptoms of a heart attack may be very different than those of men.
Women’s Symptoms
For a long time women were under-diagnosed for heart disease because they had atypical symptoms. It may be that the books doctors used to study were written by men, about men, for men. Symptoms such as chest tightness and shortness of breath seem to be less common in women. Instead, fatigue, nausea, and dizziness may be the only complaints. Because of this, women are often not taken seriously and their heart disease goes untreated.
It’s thus important for women at risk for heart disease to pay close attention to any new or atypical symptoms. Report these to your doctor immediately and don’t let yourself be ignored.
Diagnosis Without Symptoms
It’s very difficult for a doctor to diagnose an illness if you don’t have any complaints. Many heart attacks in women are preventable if doctors suspected coronary artery disease. Unfortunately, it’s impractical to test all women. The costs would be extremely high and many would be subjected to testing unnecessarily.
Tests that can diagnose and predict heart attacks include the ECG, echocardiogram, stress test, high-speed CTA scan, and certain blood tests such as cholesterol level and CRP. If your doctor thinks your risk of a heart attack is high enough, the above tests may be done on a regular basis.
Although no test can predict a heart attack with 100% accuracy, the various types of stress tests and cardiac imaging provide important information about your current and future risk of heart attacks.