The skeptical cardiologist notes that today has been proclaimed “Go Red For Women” day. I’m not sure what wearing red on the second Friday of each February accomplishes but I do think it is important that women recognize that they are at risk for heart disease and stroke.
The AHA sponsored http://www.goredforwomen.org site proclaims
“each year, 1 in 3 women die of heart disease and stroke”
That is pretty alarming! After three years of this there will be very few women left.
A much better source of information than the AHA or go red for women sites in my opinion is the blog of Carolyn Thomas entitled Heart Sisters.
Carolyn suffered a heart attack and her site is a wealth of information on women and heart disease. Her posts are well researched and informative.
She recently wrote about the fact that 85% of hospital admissions for chest pain are not for Heart Attack. With her permission, I am re blogging this important post which reviews the symptoms of heart attack that differ between men and women and the misdiagnosis of heart attack that is more common in women.
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
“I was asleep and my symptoms woke me up. I had several simultaneous symptoms, but the first one seemed to be central chest pain. It wasn’t sharp or crushing or burning, more like a dull pressure. The pain radiated down my left arm and up into my neck and jaw. I had cold sweats, and I felt nauseated.”
Laura Haywood-Cory, age 41, heart attack, six stents
Researchers tell us that over 90% of us already know that chest pain like Laura’s could be a symptom of what doctors call Acute Myocardial Infarction(AMI – or heart attack) or Acute Coronary Syndrome(any condition brought on by sudden reduced blood flow to the heart muscle). So it may not surprise you to learn that chest pain is the main reason that over 6 million people rush to the Emergency Departments of North American hospitals…
View original post 2,175 more words
Thanks Dr. Anthony for reblogging this post. Figuring out “Is this something? Is it nothing? Should I call 911?” is a terribly stressful scenario for those who fear their symptoms are heart-related. There are arguably few things more anxiety-producing in life (take my word for it!) than having a heart attack, which is why I appreciated the overview in this post from health care professionals who help us to differentiate a wide range of frightening symptoms.
regards,
C.