What are the Signs of heart attack?Is heart attack in men and women are different?

Signs of Heart Attack:

 Heart attack occurs when the smooth blood flow to the heart gets blocked. Blockage happens due to the buildup of fat, especially cholesterol and other substances that form a plaque or a form of barrier in the arteries of the heart. The plaque can break away to form a clot. This kind of blood flow can destroy or damage the heart muscles.

The disease can be deadly but can be prevented if the treatment is made available at the right time. Following are the signs of a heart attack

• Shortness of breath
• Pressure, pain, tightness in the chest or arms
• Heartburn, indigestion, nausea and abdominal pain
• Fatigue
• Cold sweat
• Feeling of dizziness

Also, the symptoms can vary from people to people. Some may have mild chest pain while some may have no pain at all. Signs may be visible in some and invisible in others. Women’s symptoms also is the same but women are more prone to heart attacks than men. Women observe and ignore these symptoms, thinking it of an acid reflux, flu or a sign of normal ageing. This is where it goes entirely wrong.some women may even manage to pop in a tablet if they find any symptoms of heart attack and think that they are fine.

Diabetes connections  with heart disease means that people who have diabetes have high chances of having a heart attack and cardiovascular disease. As people with diabetes have high blood sugar levels, the high glucose content in the bloodstream damages the arteries by stiffening them. Fat deposits inside the blood vessels, leading to a condition known as atherosclerosis. This can cause heart attack.

How Heart Attack differs in Men and Women?

• Women have certain conditions like endometriosis, Polycystic ovary disease etc. which can raise the risk of heart attacks when compared to men
• Men may get heart attack earlier than women as women are protected by a hormone called estrogen which starts dropping post menopause
• Women may take much longer to recover from heart attack than men

Important ways to reduce your risk of heart disease

• Start working out: Rather than being a couch potato at home, take breaks and go for a walk. In short, keep your body fit through moderate level workouts
• Kick out bad habits: Habits like smoking and drinking can be dangerous for your overall health, especially heart. Hence, seek help in a de-addiction centre to protect your heart from heart attack
• Manage stress. Make sure not to stress out which can cause strain on your heart
• Keep your weight under control
• Maintain a healthy diet

Dr Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale

Cardiothoracic, Transplant and Minimal Access Cardiac Surgeon 

Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee hills, Hyderabad.