June 17, 2021
The symptoms of a heart attack in women are a little bit different from those of men. Recognizing that these signs are different can help your elderly family member to get medical assistance sooner if she starts to experience these symptoms.
Stomach pain, light-headedness, or nausea can all be signs of an imminent heart attack. Your senior might chalk that up to something else, like something she ate or just feeling unwell. But these can be signs that your senior’s heart is having trouble and that’s affecting the rest of her body. This set of symptoms has a lot more weight if your senior is experiencing some of the other signs on this list.
Your senior’s lungs and her heart work closely together and when one is affected, often the other is, too. Your elderly family member might start to feel as if it’s difficult for her to catch her breath. This happens because the heart and lungs work together to move oxygen through the body and a heart attack hinders that action.
Women experiencing a heart attack are more likely to feel extreme fatigue, sometimes even leading up to the heart attack. Your senior might tell you that it’s difficult for her to do things that are normal activities for her to do. This is a big warning sign if your elderly family member has been less active than usual and is telling you that she’s extremely tired. She might also think that she’s just coming down with something, which could make her more likely to ignore some of these signs.
Chest pain is one of the most common symptoms of heart attack, even in women, but there are other types of pressure and pain that women are more likely to experience. Pain in the jaw, upper chest, or shoulders may be a sign of a heart attack. That pain may come on suddenly or it might be extremely gradual, getting worse over hours or even days.
Recovering from a heart attack may take longer than your senior expects. Having help from senior care providers can help her to recover more easily, especially if she’s able to delegate and let someone else handle things for her.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Home Care Services in Squirrel Hill, PA, please contact the caring staff at In-Home Quality Care today. Serving the Greater Pittsburgh Area since 1990! Call 412-421-5202
