Do Women Experience Angina And Heart Attacks Differently Than Men?

— -- Question: Do women experience angina and heart attacks differently than men?

Answer: Women do demonstrate different types of angina, which is the chest discomfort that is most associated with coronary artery disease, the leading killer of women and men. Women also describe the symptoms of a heart attack differently from men.

While on average about half of women will have pressure or pain in their chest -- that would be their angina or their heart attack symptoms -- about half of the time, they will present with atypical symptoms, so, upset stomach, nausea, shortness of breath, maybe some sweatiness. Where most men, two-thirds to three-quarters of men, will have that chest pain or chest pressure that we think of as typical of angina or a heart attack.

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