The overlooked heart attack symptom that affects up to 70% of women

Heart attacks are often thought of as sudden and severe, with intense chest pain. However, many women may experience less dramatic warning signs. One common symptom is severe, unexplained fatigue, which can appear days or weeks before a heart attack. Cardiologists advise distinguishing this exhaustion from normal tiredness, which is often a result of sleepless nights, stress or demanding activities.

Women are more likely than men to experience warning symptoms before a heart attack, with fatigue being the most frequently reported. This is likely due to the body's response when blood flow to the heart begins to deteriorate. With less oxygen reaching the heart muscle, its efficiency declines, and the body struggles to circulate enough oxygen to other organs, causing overwhelming fatigue.

Unfortunately, fatigue is a common complaint among women, who often multitask, have demanding schedules and are caretakers. This can lead both patients and doctors to dismiss this important warning sign. In fact, women are more likely to interpret their symptoms as stress or anxiety and may be less likely to be recognized by their healthcare providers as heart-related.

There are several possible reasons why women may have different heart attack symptoms. Anatomical differences, such as heart size and how the nervous system responds to stress, could play a role. Inflammation resulting from plaque buildup, which often accompanies heart attacks, may be more associated with fatigue in women. Additionally, women are more likely to suffer from coronary microvascular disease, involving the heart's smaller blood vessels that can stiffen or lose their ability to expand properly, limiting blood flow without a major artery becoming blocked.

When fatigue becomes a warning sign, it is often characterized by a sudden inability to perform daily activities that were once effortless, such as raising one's arms long enough to dry hair. Excessive fatigue that persists for several days or weeks without an obvious explanation should be a cause for concern. Other concerning symptoms include chest discomfort, jaw, neck or back pain, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, indigestion, sweating, disturbed sleep, dizziness or lightheadedness. If any of these symptoms occur, it is important to seek medical attention.