How about this one:
I had a heart attack during a treadmill test, with a doctor and nurse right there in the room. I was a 47-year old pre-menopausal female in good physician, not overweight, non-smoker.
I told them that I was in distress: cold sweat, clammy feeling, heaviness in my arms. They told me I was doing fine. I actually PASSED the treadmill test. Then the horrific pain started.
All hell broke loose after that. I went into cardiac arrest twice in the ambulance. Thank god for the EMTs - they are my heroes.
I've always wondered...if I'd been a 47-year old MAN.
"I had a heart attack during a treadmill test, with a doctor and nurse right there in the room"
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Thanks for sharing your horrible experience.
I just don't understand why doctors, including cardiologists, who REALLY should know better, still ignore symptoms of a heart attack, when the patient is a woman.
Heart attacks are the NO. 1 cause of death for women and doctors still aren't paying attention.
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A Woman's Heart: Symptoms of Heart Attack
http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/heartdisease/a/sympofheartatta.htm
Every year hundreds of thousands of women die as the result of a heart attack or other cardiovascular disease. What many people, including many healthcare professionals, don't realize is that the symptoms of heart attack in women are often different than in men. Women are more likely to experience nausea, dizziness, and anxiety as symptoms that indicate a heart attack.
Chest pain-may also include back pain and/or deep aching and throbbing in one or both arms.
Breathlessness and/or inability to catch your breath when waking up.
Clammy sweating.
Dizziness--unexplained lightheadedness, possible blackouts.
Anxiety--unusual nervousness, feelings of impending doom.
Edema--fluid retention and swelling usually of the ankles or lower legs.
Fluttering--rapid heartbeats, palpitations.
Nausea--gastric upset.
Feeling of heaviness, such as pressure-like chest pain between the breasts that may radiate to the left arm or shoulder.
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in women and it is the most preventable cause of death. Women should pay particular attention to these symptoms and seek immediate advice from a healthcare professional if these symptoms occur.
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WOMEN: PRINT THIS OUT AND SHOW IT TO YOUR SCEPTICAL DOCTOR.