Symptoms of myocardial infarction in women

Symptoms of myocardial infarction in women

Symptoms of myocardial infarction in women: It is a general belief that symptoms of myocardial infarction may be atypical in females. This aspect was evaluated by Jean C McSweeney, Marisue Cody, Patricia O’Sullivan, Karen Elberson, Debra K Moser and Bonnie J Garvin [1] by a telephonic survey administered 4 to 6 months after discharge from a myocardial infarction. Initial screening was done to exclude cognitive dysfunction which would prevent proper participation in the survey. The survey involved a 60 minute questionnaire administered by a trained research assistant. The important prodromal symptoms within the preceding month were unusual fatigue (70.7%), sleep disturbance (47.8%) and shortness of breath (42.1%). Only 29.7% gave a history of chest discomfort in the preceding month.

The most frequent symptom during the acute episode was shortness of breath (57.9%), while chest pain occurred in 57%. 54.8% had a feeling of weakness and 42.9% had fatigue during the acute episode of myocardial infarction.

The authors conclude that most women have prodromal symptoms before an acute myocardial infarction, but it is not known how predictive of future events these prodromal symptoms are.

Reference

1. Jean C McSweeney, Marisue Cody, Patricia O’Sullivan, Karen Elberson, Debra K Moser, Bonnie J Garvin. Women’s early warning symptoms of acute myocardial infarction. Circulation. 2003 Nov 25;108(21):2619-23.