Heart Attacks & Differences for Males & Females

Heart attacks happen when the flow of blood bringing oxygen to a part of your heart is suddenly blocked.

When this happens, your heart can't get enough oxygen and, if blood flow is not restored soon enough, the heart begins to die.

The National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute says most heart attacks are caused by coronary artery disease however your age, lifestyle habits like poor diet and other medical conditions like obesity can increase your risk of having a heart attack.

While heart attacks can be caused by similar circumstances, the symptoms of a heart attack can be very different, especially between men and women.

Heart Attack Symptoms

The American Heart Association says (PDF) that the most common symptom of a heart attacks no matter who the person is experiencing it is chest pain. However, there are sometimes less obvious warning signs for females. Here are common symptoms for males and females:

Males

• Squeezing pressure or pain in your chest
• Shortness of breath
• Pain in your jaw, neck or back
• Nausea and/or vomiting

Females

• Usually chest pain, but not always
• Shortness of breath
• Pressure or pain in your upper abdomen or lower chest
• Pain in your jaw, neck or upper back
• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Fainting
• Indigestion
• Extreme fatigue

Symptoms can come on immediately with intensity, but more often you will experience signs hours, days or even weeks before your heart attack.

If you think you or someone else may be having a heart attack, call 911 immediately. The sooner oxygen flow is restored to the heart, the more likely you'll experience a full recovery.

Preventing and Treating Heart Attacks

There are a number of risk factors you can't control when it comes to heart attacks, like age, family history of heart disease and infections. However, there are many factors you can control.

Healthy dieting, regular exercise and not smoking can all help lower your risk of experiencing a heart attack along with getting treatment early for conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure or obesity.

There are also a number of treatments for a heart attack, whether its emergent treatment or procedures to help restore blood flow to your heart.
Emergency treatments include certain medicines like aspirin or nitroglycerin, which respectively prevent blood clots and make it easier for your heart to pump blood as well as improve blood flow through your coronary arteries.

Procedures you may undergo following a heart attack, whether it's a percutaneous coronary intervention (coronary or balloon angioplasty), a stent placement or coronary artery bypass grafting, all work to improve blood flow to your heart.

No matter your lifestyle habits or health history, it's important to know the different signs of a heart attack in case you or someone close to you experiences one.