A heart surgeon explains.
The infarction is an emergency. “”As soon as the symptoms do not disappear within 5 minutes, it is necessary to react (call 112 or 15). This is also the case if the symptoms disappear and then reappear on the effort “ Remember Dr. Sophie Bauer immediately, chest and cardiovascular surgeon. The risks of cardiac arrest are larger in the presence of atheromatous terrain (presence of atheroma plates in the arteries), heart rate, diabetes, hypertension, smoking and drug taking. “Cocaine consumers are more and more numerous in France, and younger than before. We receive more and more patients of about 30 years making a heart attack in the influence of cocaine” alerts the surgeon.
Symptoms of myocardial infarction or heart attack are very typical, especially in humans. The first sign is pain or discomfort in the chest. But how do you know if the pain felt is heart or not? In case of infarction, this pain can be lively, in the form of pressure, tightness or heaviness. It is sometimes assimilated to a burning sensation. “Pain is in the form of a gravity feeling in the chestsays Dr. Bauer. Most often, this pain is retrosternal, that is to say it radiates behind the sternum. The embarrassment is felt in other parts of the body, especially at the level of the left arm or the jaw. “ It can be felt at the neck, shoulders or back. It is also worrying if the person suffers from breathlessness. “You have to be vigilant because you can only feel part of the symptoms. For example, you can just have pain in the upper left member” warns Dr. Bauer.
In women, the symptoms of the heart attack are very atypical. “Women can have pain in the epigastric region (stomach) that persist or lighter discomfort in the chest. Pain under the ribs and under the sternum at the abdominal level can be the sign of a myocardial infarction.” To make a difference between digestive or heart symptoms in women, you should know that the pain of the heart attack remains located in the middle of the belly. “If the origin is digestive, the pain in the colon moves, especially in the event of gas which follows the intestines path. The abdominal pain of the infarction is sometimes accompanied by respiratory discomfort, breathless or a disorder of rhythm. Also, the pain is not necessarily acute” Specifies Dr. Sophie Bauer.
In women, myocardial infarction can result in a rise in tension or conversely, an abnormal drop in tension, a brutal shortness of breath or heart rate disorders that require a doctor without delay. Also pay attention to the epigastric discomfort occurring to the effort, which can be the sign of an angina. “We have not yet completely elucidated the origins of these symptoms. However, it is important that women are informed of these symptoms. As pain is not typical, this causes diagnostic delays and more deaths in women.”
