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The danger of every heart attack is immediate cardiac arrest, regardless of the type of symptoms. Sad fact: women are almost twice as likely as men to die from their first heart attack, one expert says.

Severe pain radiating to the arms, back or neck, a massive feeling of tightness in the chest, intense burning in the heart area, as well as cold sweat and pale skin are typical signs of a heart attack – especially in men. “In women, on the other hand, the infarction is more likely to manifest itself in a non-specific way, with nausea and vomiting, exhaustion, pain in the upper abdomen and back, and shortness of breath. More often than in male patients, female heart attack patients may experience no chest pain at all,” says Prof. Dr. Dirk Westermann, Medical Director of the Department of Cardiology and Angiology at the University Heart Center Freiburg - Bad Krozingen of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. This is why sometimes the infarction in women is not detected in time.

Women over 60 at increased risk

It has long been refuted that heart attack is a disease that only affects men. However, women are better protected than men until they reach menopause. But as hormone production declines, so does the protection from heart attacks. This is why cardiovascular diseases only occur more frequently in women from around the age of 60. Men, on the other hand, are at increased risk ten years earlier. In industrialized countries, however, heart attacks are among the most common causes of death in women from the age of 35 – far more common than breast cancer, for example. “Patients of both sexes with type 2 diabetes have a significantly increased risk of heart attack,” warns Prof. Westermann. Other risk factors include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of exercise, and obesity.

Women affected take their symptoms less seriously

Often, the symptoms of a heart attack in women are not diagnosed quickly enough, with valuable time passing. Those affected also take their symptoms less seriously. They are often embarrassed; besides, women are far more afraid of developing cancer than they are of suffering a heart attack. “If a woman experiences a previously unknown and very intense feeling of pressure or tightness or pain in the area of the left shoulder, you have to think of a heart attack,” says Prof. Westermann. There's not a minute to lose then, and you have to call emergency services. Those present should administer first aid immediately.

First aid for cardiac arrest:

“Check. Call. Press.”

1. Check whether the person is still breathing.

2. Call emergency services.

3. Press firmly and at least 100 times per minute in the center of the chest and do not stop until help arrives (cardiac massage).