Is It Indigestion or Heart Attack?

You’re relaxing at home after a delicious meal, and you notice that you don’t feel quite right. You seem to have an upset stomach, with a burning sensation right below your breastbone. Is it just indigestion, or are these warning signs of a heart attack?

Unlike men, who typically have classic heart attack symptoms like severe chest pressure and pain that radiates down the arm, women often have much more subtle symptoms that can be easily confused with common ailments, according to Scripps cardiologist Kiyon Chung, MD. Indigestion, which is a feeling of mild discomfort or fullness in the upper abdomen often accompanied by burning or heat, is just one example; others include stress, fatigue and nausea.

Because the symptoms are often subtle, many women don’t even realize they’re experiencing a heart attack, says Dr. Chung. As a result, they miss the opportunity to seek immediate, life-saving medical attention. In fact, heart disease has become the number one killer of women in San Diego County, surpassing cancer and all other medical conditions. Women are much more likely to present later during their heart attacks, and as a result, benefit less from critical procedures such as angioplasty and stenting which can stop the damage to the heart.

All women should become familiar with both the classic, recognizable signs of heart attack, as well as the less obvious warning signs.