Sunday, April 25


Let me start out by explaining that I don't think the heart attack I had on April 5th was my first. I think I had one 4 years ago and another in March. Why? Because the symptoms were so similar and the doctor could never really explain what happened either of those previous times.
Women experience much different symptoms then men when they have a heart attack. Yes, there can be pain and heaviness in the chest, the arms and legs can tingle or go numb and there can be pain in the neck. However, most women that I talked to in hospital spoke of much more subtle symptoms.
On April 5th, I was sitting at the computer doing some work and chatting with a friend. I had a slight headache that kept getting worse. I am not one to experience headaches and this was about the 4th one I'd had in a week. The headache continued and I began to feel nauseated. Then I began getting warm from my toes to the top of my head. I felt really ill and I had a pain in my upper right back just below the shoulder blade. Notice I said upper right back. That pain had been bugging me off and on for about 6 weeks.
I began to feel worse and woke Dwight up and told him I didn't feel well and I had to go to bed. I undressed, got into bed and as soon as I tried to relax, I because to shake, similar to a seizure but not so violently. It took me only a moment to realize that the tingling in my arms and legs was getting worse and I needed to go to hospital.
Those are the symptoms of my heart attack and it wasn't the first time I'd had them. The pain in my back had been constant. I mentioned heart palpitatations to my doctor. For some reason doctors tend to believe that women complain about every little ache and pain when in reality it is usually the other way around. Women don't complain because they are used to caring for others...born caregivers and tend to not take care of themselves.
If you have any of the symptoms I described above, seek medical attention immediately. It my be a case of bad indigestions but it could also be a heart attack.

21 comments:

  1. Mary, so happy you are home and on the recovery road. And thank you for sharing your experience with heart attack symptoms. My mom years ago grudgingly drove herself to the hospital when she began to feel an unusual "heaviness" in her chest. Sure enough, she'd had a nearly silent heart attack. Women definitely need to be heart-health educated and encouraged to seek help when any type of unusual symptom presents itself.

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  2. You and I both are blessed to be survivors. The majority of women having heart attacks will die because of failure to get help quickly and failure of physicians to read their pre-warning signs. It is up to us now to spread the word sister in hopes others might heed our warnings. So happy you are well.

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  3. Mary,

    Thank you for sharing this information and your symptoms. I was aware that women have different symptoms from men, but I wasn't really sure what those symptoms are. This is valuable information. As you said, doctors tend to think that women complain about everything, which just isn't true. And any doctor who knows you, should definitely know that you are not one to complain about every little thing.

    I'm so glad you are home! Take care my friend!:-)

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  4. Some doctors are the non-alarmist types, which is good to a point, but they must also be thorough. Cheers for being on the road to recovery.

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  5. This is good information for women. It's interesting how different the symptoms are for women. This may make a difference in someones life.

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  6. So glad you are home Mary, you have been in my thoughts all week, the same thing happened to my mum last christmas but she was on her own and did not want to call out an ambulance over the holidays as she thought they should have a break ! Can u believe that, anyway she survived and was diagnosed with having a mild stroke but it had been a gradual build up of little symptoms.we have to take care of ourselves and eachother,
    speak soon helga

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  7. I am so glad you are home and on the way to being well. When I had my heart attack I also had very vague symptoms, I am sure that's the reason I was not taken seriously and was sent home. I also had back pain under my shoulder blade and an overall heaviness in my legs, and tired...I was so tired. Thank God we survived...many don't and I count that blessing everyday.
    Take care Mary, don't rush things.

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  8. Mary, So happy to hear you are recuperating from your surgery and that you're home! Thank you for sharing your symptoms with us, you just never know who will be helped by your words. Blessings to you for a smooth recovery!

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  9. Mary, I'm so glad you are well enough to blog.. these symptoms should be a warning to everyone. Let's hope others will benefit from hearing about your experience. (((hugs)))

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  10. I'm happy that you went to the hospital when you did. We don't want to lose you. I knew that women's symptoms were different from men's. Thanks for sharing how you felt with us. It might save someone's life.
    Blessings,
    Mama Bear

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  11. Wow, Mary, it is scary that women have such different symptoms and that we're not taken seriously enough. Thank the Lord you made it to the hospital in time and you are doing so well!

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  12. I am so glad you are home. I am still praying for you...m..

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  13. Thanks for sharing this very helpful information.

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  14. Welcome Home!
    Thanks for sharing your very important info with all of us. Not sure I would have recognised those symptoms as possilbe heart attack symptoms
    Best wishes for a speedy recovery,
    Lou

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  15. oh no Mary, I DO hope you're on the mend now!

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  16. I'm glad you're home and on the mend. I thought that was very sweet of you to acknowledge your husband's blog. You've both been through so much these past few months, my prayer is that the worst is over and there are bright, peaceful and refreshing days ahead. Your Dakota sounds very sweet. How are your Grandsons with all of this now? I hope they're okay.

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  17. This is so vital!! I'm glad you shared your symptoms and put it down in words to help us all. It's very important to share experiences and how we should know all. Even if ours is different, we do now know that the whole scenario could be a life saver to someone!!!

    Your cardiologist could pick up any previous heart problems in your EKGs.

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  18. Thank you for the useful information that will hopefully make many other women aware that our sypmtoms ARE different from those that men experience.

    Again, I'm so glad you've made it through and are recovering nicely!!!

    Hugs,
    Kelly

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  19. PS....for some light hearted [no pun intended] viewing today, stop by and visit with me if you're up to it. I'm in a TV movie today.

    Hope you're doing good!!

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  20. so glad your coming through this mary xxx good wishes sent to you xxx

    i was told at a medical meeting when i worked at the local hospital that for anyone having a heart attack it helps if they can cough ... apparently in coughing it makes the heart jolt and does a kind of massage


    hope you recover quickly xxx

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  21. I remember when you posted about that happening to you a while back. It was scary. Those are very unusual symptoms for a heart attack. So glad you are okay now. Take care of yourself and continue to get better.

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