Category: Signs of a heart attack

Disregard that internet chain letter about “Cough CPR”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Since my heart attack, my friends and family like to forward me every heart-related email going around, usually with the subject line: “Have you seen this one yet?!?!” A particularly persistent one that just won’t go away is entitled “How to Survive a Heart Attack when Alone.” Have you seen this one yet? It recommends that people who think they are having a heart attack should start coughing, long, deeply and frequently. The email claims that coughing will improve blood circulation to the heart, keeping you alive until emergency services arrive. 

Does this work?  

In a word: NO!  Here’s why:

Continue reading “Disregard that internet chain letter about “Cough CPR”” →

What is causing my chest pain?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

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by Carolyn Thomas  ♥   @HeartSisters

First of all, I think even using the word “pain” to describe a common heart attack symptom may be misleading for many women.

It’s important to remember that some women experience NO chest symptoms at all during a heart attack.(1)  And since my own heart attack, I have met countless heart attack survivors who don’t use the word “pain” to describe their chest symptoms. Cardiac researcher Dr. Catherine Kreatsoulas reminds us that words matter when women describe their chest symptoms without using the word “pain” – and can actually influence how they will be treated in the Emergency Department – or not.  Continue reading “What is causing my chest pain?” →

12 cardiac symptoms women must never ignore

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 37 Comments

  by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

Did you know that women generally fare far worse than men after experiencing a cardiac event? One possible reason is that it can be confusing to make sense of warning symptoms when they do hit. Women are also less likely than our male counterparts to seek immediate help at the first sign of cardiac symptoms. Instead, we end up:

  • toughing them out
  • waiting to see if they go away
  • blaming them on stress, muscle soreness, indigestion or other less serious non-cardiac causes

If the following 12 potential heart attack symptoms occur – alone or in combination, and especially if they feel unusual for you, you must act immediately:   Continue reading “12 cardiac symptoms women must never ignore” →

“Women’s Heart Attack Myth”? Revisiting the controversial Canadian study

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 15 Comments

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by Carolyn Thomas    ♥   @HeartSisters

Media coverage of a study presented at the annual Canadian Cardiovascular Congress last month has left me and other Heart Sisters gobsmacked.  One heart attack survivor told me:

“This ‘research’ has set back women’s awareness of heart attack symptoms by a full decade!”

What could have inspired a reaction like this?  First, there are the media headlines, “The Heart Attack Myth”.   Continue reading ““Women’s Heart Attack Myth”? Revisiting the controversial Canadian study” →