Diagnosis and Symptoms

Diagnosing Heart Disease in Women

Diagnostic tests for heart disease need to be interpreted differently for women than for men. Hormonal changes may influence the treadmill stress test results, for example, leading to greater likelihood of both false positive and false negative results. The fact that women may have less exercise capacity can also affect accuracy of treadmill testing results.

In nuclear stress testing, technicians may have a more difficult time imaging the heart behind a woman's breasts.

Also women identified as having high calcium scores (a measure of calcium deposits in the artery) are considered at especially high risk for heart disease, making this diagnostic test somewhat more predictive in women than in men.

If you believe you are risk for heart disease see your physian to discuss appropriate testing.

What Heart Attack Feels Like to Women

Heart attack symptoms are often different for women than men. About a third of women experience no chest pain at all when having a heart attack. Many report flu-like symptoms. Here is a list of the most common female symptoms of heart attack:

• Pain, pressure, fullness, discomfort or a burning or squeezing sensation in the center of the chest
• Radiating pain to shoulder(s), neck, back, arm(s) or jaw
• Shortness of breath
• Upper abdominal pain
• Nausea, vomiting or severe ingestion
• Sweating for no apparent reason
• Dizziness with fatigue
• Sudden & extreme fatigue
• Panic with a feeling of impending doom

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