In recent decades, scientists have realized that heart attack symptoms can be quite different for women than for men. The journal Circulation published the findings of a multicenter study of 515 women who’d experienced a heart attack. The most frequently reported symptoms didn’t include chest pain. Instead, women reported unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances, and anxiety. Nearly 80 percent reported experiencing at least one symptom for more than a month before their heart attack. In a survey published in the journal Circulation, only 65 percent of women said they’d call 911 if they thought they might be having a heart attack.

Symptoms of a heart attack in women include:

Woman having a pain in the heart area. Heart Attack. Painful Chest.
Health Care, Medical Concept.

Sleep disturbances, such as insomnia, unusual restlessness, or waking up frequently during the night, have been reported as warning signs in some women prior to a heart attack.

Anxiety

Sad depressed woman at home sitting on the couch, looking down and touching her forehead, loneliness and pain concept

Woman With Vertigo

Feeling dizzy or faint is another symptom that may occur during a heart attack.

Shortness of breath

Older woman at home doing fitness has severe shortness of breath and chest pain, compares bullets on fitness bracelets

Cold sweat. Low angle of beautiful mature woman sweating and carrying glass of water

Cold and clammy skin, along with sweating, can accompany a heart attack, especially in women.

Jaw pain or pain that spreads up to your jaw

A silent heart attack is like any other heart attack, except it occurs without the usual symptoms. In other words, you may not even realize you’ve experienced a heart attack.

In fact, research from Duke University Medical Center has estimated that as many as 200,000

Americans experience heart attacks each year without even knowing it. Unfortunately, these
events cause heart damage and increase the risk of future attacks. Silent heart attacks are more common among people with diabetes and in those who’ve had previous heart attacks.

Symptoms that may indicate a silent heart attack include: old age, health problem and people concept – close up of senior woman suffering from heartache at home mild discomfort in your chest, arms, or jaw that goes away after resting shortness of breath and tiring easily sleep disturbances and increased fatigue abdominal pain or heartburn skin clamminess