Remembering them could help save the life of your mother, wife, sister or daughter
Six common heart attack symptoms in women
- Chest pain or discomfort that suddenly occurs and doesn’t go away (not everyone gets this)
- Pain radiating to the arms, neck, jaw, stomach and back
- You may experience pain in just one or all of these places; for some people the pain is severe but for others just uncomfortable
- A feeling of indigestion or reflux type pain – people often ignore this hoping it will pass.
- Feeling sick, sweaty, breathless or lightheaded with associated chest pain or discomfort
- A general feeling of being unwell or lethargic can also be an indicator of a heart attack when accompanied by chest pain or discomfort.
If you think you, or someone you are with is having a heart attack call 999 for an ambulance immediately
First Aid for Heart Attacks
- Get the casualty to sit down in a comfortable position
- Reassure the casualty to reduce anxiety and panic
- If aspirin is easily available and the casualty isn’t allergic to it, get them to slowly chew and then swallow an adult-sized tablet (300mg) while waiting for the ambulance. The aspirin helps to thin the blood and restore the heart’s blood supply
- If you are the casualty and you are alone and don’t have an aspirin next to you, or if you don’t know if you’re allergic to aspirin, just stay resting until the ambulance arrives.
- If possible, get someone to open the door for the paramedic as this saves time.
- Monitor airway and breathing and prepare to start CPR, if required
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Are you confident you could save a life with CPR? If not, let one of our experienced paramedics teach you how on one of our first aid courses.
The Facts
Did you know that 28,000 women in the UK die from heart attacks each year, that’s roughly 7 every day and 3 each hour.
1000’s of women die unnecessarily because they are misdiagnosed partly because of the false perception that heart attacks only happen to men.
Coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many women as breast cancer every year
Women tend to wait longer before calling 999 after first experiencing heart attack symptoms.
This delay can dramatically reduce the chance of survival.
