Study: Women more likely to have heart attack without chest pain

A recent study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that women are more likely than men to present to the hospital for a heart attack without having experienced chest pain or discomfort.

Researchers looked at the medical records of roughly 1.1 million heart attack patients that were included in a national database. The records included treatment from 1994 to 2006 at almost 2,000 hospitals. Their analysis found that while about 31 percent of male heart attack patients did not have chest pain or discomfort, about 42 percent of female patients experienced the same lack of symptoms. In younger women, no chest pain was even more common following a heart attack.

A lack of pain or discomfort can be extremely dangerous when it comes to a heart attack, as it can cause a delay in treatment and increase the risk of death. This also makes clear why women included in the study had a higher incidence of death compared to men , as many were unaware they were experiencing a heart attack and did not receive treatment early enough, if at all.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that each year, almost 800,000 people in the U.S. experience their first heart attack, and heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for men and women.

It is important to remember that aside from chest pain and discomfort, heart attack sufferers can also experience shortness of breath or pain in the jaw, neck, arms, stomach or back. Women who have a family history of heart disease, are smokers, or those with diabetes are predisposed to heart attacks. These women should be aware that there are more symptoms of a heart attack than just chest pain.

If you or a loved one ‘s experienced a delay in diagnosis or treatment of their heart attack resulting in serious injury or death, call or email the medical malpractice attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos for a free consultation today. We have helped clients with Bronx cardiac malpractice, Brooklyn cardiac malpractice, Queens cardiac malpractice, Manhattan cardiac malpractice and Long Island cardiac malpractice cases.

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