Latest / From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing / When Women Are Misdiagnosed: Heart Attack Symptoms

Transcript

When Women Are Misdiagnosed: Heart Attack Symptoms · From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing

• 0:07
  Hello and welcome back to From Recovery to Wellness.
• 0:11
  I'm Arnita your host and I'm glad that you're
• 0:14
  here. This season we're focusing on women's heart
• 0:18
  health and today we will be talking about when
• 0:24
  women are misdiagnosed in heart attack symptoms.
• 0:29
  Heart disease in women does not always look the
• 0:32
  way it is commonly expected to look. Many people
• 0:37
  associate heart attacks with sudden intense chest
• 0:41
  pain, but women often experience a broader range
• 0:45
  of symptoms. These can include fatigue, nausea,
• 0:52
  shortness of breath, dizziness, back pain, jaw
• 0:58
  discomfort, or a general sense that something
• 1:02
  is not right. Because these symptoms can overlap
• 1:07
  with other conditions, they are sometimes misinterpreted
• 1:12
  or dismissed. This is where delays in diagnosis
• 1:17
  can occur. And in cardiovascular events, time
• 1:22
  matters. The earlier the heart symptoms are recognized,
• 1:27
  the better the potential outcome. This makes
• 1:30
  awareness not just important but essential. Women's
• 1:35
  heart disease has historically been under researched
• 1:38
  and over under recognized, which has contributed
• 1:41
  to gaps in diagnosis and treatment. Even today,
• 1:48
  many women report that their symptoms are initially
• 1:51
  attributed to anxiety, stress, or non -cardiac
• 1:57
  causes. While those factors can be valid in some
• 2:02
  cases, they should not prevent a full cardiovascular
• 2:07
  evaluation when symptoms suggest otherwise. So
• 2:12
  understanding the full range of heart attack
• 2:14
  symptoms in women can support earlier recognition
• 2:18
  and care. And did you know women are more likely
• 2:23
  than men to experience atypical heart attack
• 2:26
  symptoms and to have those symptoms initially
• 2:30
  misdiagnosed? And before we close, I want you
• 2:36
  to reflect on this, this question. Have you ever
• 2:41
  experienced a moment when your body felt different
• 2:43
  or unfamiliar, or even if you couldn't explain
• 2:46
  exactly why? Or if you just felt out of source,
• 2:51
  just something just wasn't right? Just think
• 2:54
  about that. And... Just before we close, I just
• 3:01
  want to mention our food of the week, another
• 3:07
  heart -healthy food, and that is oats. Oats contain
• 3:14
  soluble fiber that helps support cholesterol
• 3:20
  regulation. With that, I want to thank you for
• 3:25
  joining me for this episode of from recovery
• 3:29
  to wellness. I am so honored to be a part of
• 3:32
  your wellness journey, and I hope today's episode
• 3:35
  has provided information, encouragement, and
• 3:39
  practical steps you can use to support your heart
• 3:42
  health. So until next time, take care of your
• 3:46
  heart, take care of yourself, and remember, be
• 3:51
  well.