Painful Heartburn and Signs of Heart Disease in Women

Painful heartburn can be one of the signs of heart disease in women and a warning signal of an ongoing heart attack. Females often experience differing signs of coronary distress.

Identification

A heart attack commonly masquerades as painful heartburn or indigestion. Physicians encourage erring on the side of caution and seeking emergency attention should a heart attack appear the likely cause.

Significance

"If the heartburn seems worse or different from normal--especially if it occurs during physical activity or is accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, nausea or pain radiating into your shoulder and arm--get emergency help immediately," says The Mayo Clinic.

Women

Women are more prone than males to experiencing less common symptoms of a heart attack like heartburn, loss of appetite, fatigue, coughing or a fluttering heart.

Considerations

One in four deaths each year in American women is attributable to heart disease. "The older a woman gets, the more likely she is to get heart disease," according to The U.S. National Women's Health Information Center. "Both men and women have heart attacks, but more women who have heart attacks die from them."

Warning

Birth control pills increase the likelihood of heart disease in women above age 35, as well as those who smoke or have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol.

References

• U.S. National Womens Health Information Center
• The Mayo Clinic; Heartburn: When is it a Heart Attack?

Resources

• American Heart Association; Heart Attack Symptoms