I’m female and had a heart attack at age 51 - AMA

[Bunnyfuller]

It’s well documented that symptoms of heart attacks are often very different for women….very true for me.

Sorry to hear about your heart attack, and it's great that you took action and are doing well now.

I've had so many cardiac interventions at this stage that I could qualify as a consultant! In the end it was Atrial Fibrillation. That is not life threatening in itself but can lead to debilitating strokes, so it is good to get any flutters, breathlessness, palpitations etc. checked out. I am just taking beta blockers now. I had a device called a Watchman fitted in my heart so I don't need blood thinners anymore. I can't take them due to bleeding risk.

I hope you don't think I am hijacking your thread OP, but many women do not immediately identify symptoms as being cardiac in nature so it's great that you started this thread.

Hope you continue to stay well.

I also remember them saying about women getting “less typical / stereotypical” symptoms in first aid training so it’s good to hear you talking about that!

Thanks for this op, it’s interesting how different it’s seems to present in women. I get the heart in my throat feeling if that’s what you mean. I’ve also just had a 48hr ecg as I had a weird thing early Feb where my heart rate jumped to 210bpm. I’ve had palpitations quite often but that was way above anything I’ve had before. I get a constant type ache in my chest and back but not sure if it’s because I’m unfit too. So hard to tell what’s ok and what’s not!

What I'm getting from this thread is that men tend to have a big bang event, and for women it's a slow ascent into a heart attack. Would you say that's what you've learned. OP?

@greenacrylicpaint yes, it’s a cliche but once its serious the NHS are amazing. I’m still under the cardiologist as still having issues, you also get cardiac rehab - stage 1 at home with structured increments of walking, then stage 2 which is gentle circuits with cardiac rehab PTs, a cardiac nurse and a defib 😂 then stage 3 at a gym, brilliant stuff. I don’t know what you mean about the rabbit hole?

@JuliasBiscuit ah..the stress. Short answer - I haven’t. I have a probably ASD husband, diagnosed ASD DD18, huge social anxiety DD17, and a job that is very demanding. I do worry that I will end up there again.

@Leftbutcameback I didn’t really have the impending sense of doom during the heart attack, but my BP tanked after they’d cleared the clot, and I felt like I was dying. Not in a panicky way, more in a oh well, bloody hell, this is it. I heard them say another adrenaline..and another one…again….more… someone said shall I call ICU…then the adrenaline must’ve worked cos I suddenly felt normal.

I did crap myself when they ran me down the corridor to the Cath lab while slamming defib pads on me! Shit’s getting real!

How high was your blood pressure?

@Minesababycham at the time of the heart attack my blood pressure was perfectly normal. The year before, when the BP was diagnosed it was horribly high! 190/ 110 wasn’t unusual. I know it was 220/150 they day the GP happened to check it, and was on the point of calling an ambulance then!

@JuliasBiscuit DH had totally underestimated that I was ill. As in I called my own ambulance. He was then absolutely floored and really upset when we knew what was going on. He was really good in terms of stepping up, and really ran with things (for the first time since we’ve been married). DD was very matter of fact ‘I don’t like hospitals, you’re ok, love you’ and refused to visit. It’s all back to normal now though 🙄🫤 (no wonder I’m in for another angiogram at the end of the month!). I wish I could suggest something to help you, but as you can see, I’ve totally failed in managing it myself!

rabbit hole = googling all symptoms, treatments, outcomes, will writers...

@greenacrylicpaint 😂😂😂😂 will writers! I knew quite a bit about hearts before so not googled that much. The few days I had the weird throat feeling I kept googling it, and it kept coming up with ‘heart attttaccckkk’! I obviously ignored that as everyone knows Google says you’re going to die. On the day of the heart attack I made a profile, and posted on the BHF forum, describing my symptoms and asking did it sound like angina. By the time I read the replies I was on the ward all fixed.

The throat feeling was more like a feeling of squeezing, or swollen glands. Chest pain felt like when you’ve run and run and your chest burns. But never severe, just very present. It kind of feels a weird combination of discomfort but mentally it feels a bit like you go into yourself and feel like your body is frozen, watching it unfold.

I have had WAY worse periods.

Hi op, glad you're feeling better.
Can you expand on what you mean by you couldn't lie down during the attack? X

Inside health did a good podcast on women and heart attacks recently.
hope you’re feeling better OP

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hp54

I had a heart attack at 52. My main symptom was a painful left arm and earache on the left side. Like you OP the medics were initially dismissive and only when blood tests results came in did they rush me to cardiac ward . 3 stents 3 days later.

Are you post menopausal?

@catfunk yes, sure…it was really strange. I had gradually started sitting really upright when watching TV. That evening I had to get DD to help me make dinner, and DH to clear up (oh the irony of needing a heart attack for that!) I just felt really uncomfortable standing up, and there was kind of pressure in the middle of my back.

when I went up to bed I just generally felt unable to lay down! Not pain, not breathless but just couldn’t do it. I piled pillows behind me so I was sat up ramrod straight, and tried to play Candy Crush! I think it was within 10 minutes of this I had 2 lots of violent diarrhoea and my brain just said ‘you’re ill’.

@IwasToldThereWouldBeCake I was on HRT at the time, and having regular periods because of it. I saw my GP the day after coming out of hospital and he took me off the HRT without notice! Not had a period since.

Thank you for sharing this. Am so glad you are well now it must have been so scary. So I've just turned 50. My last blood test showed my cholesterol to be slightly over the healthy range and my bpm can get quite high mainly if I'm moving. I bought a fit watch to keep an eye on it and have been trying to exercise more. I have fibro and osteoarthritis plus another condition they are monitoring hence the bloods. I did have a 24 ecg a few years ago as I do get the odd palpitations. Sometimes at night when I lie down it's worse. Since the cholesterol rise I have been more worried about my heart. I also have had immense stress the last few years which leads to really bad spasms across my chest. Have had ecg for these and always comeback fine and put down to anxiety. Anyway sorry for the long post. Do you think I need to worry more about heart problems? I need to get healthier anyway (just ate rice pudding before I saw your post 😂) Fibro gives off pain in really random areas. My throat sometimes feels like I'm brewing something but then clears up and I do have a lot of back pain but just had mri for that. So my question is probably more like how long is a piece of string? 😂😂😂

Out of interest why has the Gp taken you off HRT since your attack? I’m curious because usually the modern thinking is that HRT is good for cardiovascular health and doesn’t cause blood pressure issues. Seems an odd choice to make.

HRT is contraindicated after heart attack, and possibly stroke too? The GP showed me the guidance wording as I had dropped to the floor, weeping, whimpering ‘this is worse than the heart attack’…

Thank for for sharing your experiences - can I ask, did your throat symptoms all happen close to the actual heart attack or were they separated by a long period of time, so like a gradual build up?

@JustAsWell with the benefit of hindsight I had felt the throat thing for a few days twice YEARS before - in times of extreme stress.

Then it started randomly one day. Happened more and more often, and on day 4, from about 8pm it just didn’t go off. The consultant said there was probably a little flap of unstable plaque that was ‘flapping’, then broke off and triggered the chemicals to make a clot. My right coronary artery was completely blocked. They found ‘bystander disease’ in the left artery and I went in for 3 more stents a couple of months later.

interesting fact: my body had grown a little extra blood vessel to help the one that had been struggling. It probably saved my life.

Checked and checked

thebms.org.uk/2012/05/hrt-use-after-heart-attack/

Doesn’t really support having to give up hrt though?
”While the use of continued HRT was not shown to provide benefit in reduced risk of further MI, it was also not shown to cause further harm. The decision as to whether or not HRT should be continued after an MI should be made after full discussion between the woman and her doctor”

This is so interesting to hear about symptoms and how they differ (and how pain thresholds are higher)

I'm worried about my future cardiovascular health. I'm chronically anaemic (around 8 for heam / 1 for ferritin) for at least the last 15 years (currently 44).

I have headaches, palpitations, cramps in my calves, exercise is impossible, weight just piles on. My body is under constant strain. Yet no one does anything. I've had infusions and stopped my periods but it never gets better. I hope someone will take me seriously after the menopause.