女人的心髒病症狀和男人不同

Women's Heart Attack Symptoms Different from Men's

Research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that women often experience new or different physical symptoms as long as a month or more before experiencing heart attacks.

Among the 515 women studied, 95-percent said they knew their symptoms were new or different a month or more before experiencing their heart attack, or Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). The symptoms most commonly reported were unusual fatigue (70.6-percent), sleep disturbance (47.8-percent), and shortness of breath (42.1-percent).

Many women never had chest pains

Surprisingly, fewer than 30% reported having chest pain or discomfort prior to their heart attacks, and 43% reported have no chest pain during any phase of the attack. Most doctors, however, continue to consider chest pain as the most important heart attack symptom in both women and men.

The NIH study, titled "Women's Early Warning Symptoms of AMI," is one of the first to investigate women's experience with heart attacks, and how this experience differs from men's. Recognition of symptoms that provide an early indication of heart attack, either imminently or in the near future, is critical to forestalling or preventing the disease.

In a NIH press release, Jean McSweeney, PhD, RN, Principal Investigator of the study at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, said, "Symptoms such as indigestion, sleep disturbances, or weakness in the arms, which many of us experience on a daily basis, were recognized by many women in the study as warning signals for AMI. Because there was considerable variability in the frequency and severity of symptoms," she added, "we need to know at what point these symptoms help us predict a cardiac event."

Women's symptoms not as predictable

According to Patricia A.Grady, PhD, RN, Director of the NINR, "Increasingly, it is evident that women's symptoms are not as predictable as men's. This study offers hope that both women and clinicians will realize the wide range of symptoms that can indicate heart attack. It is important not to miss the earliest possible opportunity to prevent or ease AMI, which is the number one cause of death in both women and men."

The women's major symptoms prior to their heart attack included:

•Unusual fatigue - 70%

•Sleep disturbance - 48%

•Shortness of breath - 42%

•Indigestion - 39%

•Anxiety - 35%

Major symptoms during the heart attack include:

•Shortness of breath - 58%

•Weakness - 55%

•Unusual fatigue - 43%

•Cold sweat - 39%

•Dizziness - 39%

生育年齡的女性得心髒病的很少，是完全得益於婦女獨有的荷爾蒙，尤其是雌性激素。這些荷爾蒙，可提高血管的彈性，降低血壓，增加血液中好的膽固醇（HDL)，降低壞的膽固醇（LDL和VLDL)，使得婦女的血管比較不容易得粥樣硬化（Atherosclerosis）和阻塞（Occlusion)。

更年期以後，情況就大不相同了，身體內的雌性激素大幅度減少，女性一下子失去了保護傘，心髒血管缺乏緩衝適應力，所以心髒血管病的發生率就急劇上升。更年期以後的婦女，一旦得了心髒病，手術失敗率與並發症都比男人高，死亡率也比男人高。  

女性對心髒病的警覺性普遍不夠。尤其是在更年期以後，很多人把一些可能是心髒病的症狀，如胸口悶、走路喘、心髒砰砰跳，當作更年期必然現象，而忽略了這可能是心髒所發出的警報。 近幾年，婦女特別擔心自己患上乳癌或子宮頸癌。事實上，心血管疾病和中風，才是現代婦女最大的殺手！

心絞痛是男性心髒病發作的典型症狀之一。與男人恰好相反，女人心髒病患者卻很少出現心絞痛的症狀。