Around 6:20pm on Saturday, November 29, 2014, Medical Guardian emergency operators received an alert from Las Vegas, NV resident, Deanna M. Deanna’s relative, Gary, was with her and reported that she was experiencing chest pains and would like medical assistance to be sent to her apartment. He let the operator know that since he was on the premises with her, he would be available to open the door for the EMT’s upon their arrival.
Many women are not aware that they can be at risk for heart attacks, but heart disease is actually the number one cause of death for women in the United States. Chest pain is a telltale sign of a heart attack and it’s important to contact help immediately if you are experiencing any sort of pain, pressure or squeezing sensations in your chest.
Luckily, Deanna had purchased a Medical Guardian Home Guardian system with Fall Alert from Life Safety Consultant Avant Jones back in June 2014. Thanks to Medical Guardian, emergency responders were dispatched within 5 minutes of calling in to the emergency operator and Deanna was able to get the help that she needed.
Women and Heart Disease
You don’t want to gamble with your heart. Many women do not realize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and do not receive help in time to save their lives. According to the Mayo Clinic website, “the most common heart attack symptom in women is some type of pain, pressure or discomfort in the chest.” They attribute chest pain in women to blockages in both their main arteries and the smaller arteries that supply blood to the heart.
Many women wait until it is too late to receive help or care for the symptoms of heart disease, but by then the damage is already done, and in some cases, it can be fatal.
Signs and Symptoms
The American Heart Association lists the following as the most common signs and symptoms of heart attacks in women:
- Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
- Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
- Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
- Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
- As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
Unlike men, women tend to experience the symptoms of heart disease when they are resting (or even asleep in some cases), or if they have been feeling very stressed out.
