DID YOU KNOW? Coronary Heart Disease in Women Is Often Missed or Dismissed.

WHAT’S HAPPENING: While chest pain or discomfort is the most common sign of a heart attack in both sexes, women who have heart attacks are far less likely than men to have any chest pain at all.

WHAT IT IS: Women often have symptoms that can be harder to associate with cardiac trouble, like shortness of breath, cold sweats, malaise, fatigue and jaw and back pain. WHY IT MATTERS: A report by the American Heart Association found that heart attacks are deadlier in women who do not exhibit chest pain, in part because it means both patients and doctors take longer to identify the problem.

BOTTOM LINE: Besides an EKG and a troponin I blood test, coronary artery disease can be detected by a non-invasive coronary artery calcium score, and a high risk for heart attack can be predicted by the PULS blood test.

Read these reference (s) by clicking or pasting in your browser or google scholar:

Circulation. 2016;133:916–947 DOI: 10.1016/j.ahj.2010.04.017 4 May 2022 https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.121.024199 DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2015.08.035

Am J Cardiol 2019;123:769-775)