Common Symptoms of Heart Attack in Women
The symptoms of heart attack in women are significantly different from those in men. These are the most common:

• Anxiety, an unexplained sense that "something is wrong"
• Confusion, reduced levels of alertness
• Fatigue that makes no sense
• Gripping sensation in the chest
• Jaw pain that can extend to the throat
• Lightheadedness, nausea or profuse sweating
• Dizziness
• Pain in the upper abdomen or back
• Paleness
• Pressure in the chest
• Shortness of Breath
• Spreading pain
• Throat pain (twinge, ache, soreness)
• Weak pulse

"Emergency rooms too often discharge women experiencing throat and or jaw pain, reduced levels of alertness, and thready (weak) pulses," Dr. Ross writes. "These are symptoms of heart diseases and in some cases, heart attacks. Women are too often told that their problems are stress-related, heat-related, or a ploy for attention. Correlating symptoms in men, such as chest pain that radiates to the left arm or shortness of breath, would be immediately recognized as indicators of medical problems. Women in cardiac distress are given tranquilizers, and men are admitted to the cardiology units of their nearest hospital."

Dr. Christine Legato of Columbia University Hospital in New York City agrees. "One of five women does not experience the characteristic symptom of a heart attack typical for men: crushing chest pain. Women experience pain in their upper abdomen or back, nausea and profuse sweating, and shortness of breath. They are often sent from emergency rooms with Valium for anxiety and Mylanta for indigestion, their heart problems being overlooked by an unsuspecting and uninformed medical staff.