When men have heart attacks, they often complain about one main symptom: severe chest pain. They may say that it feels like their chest is being crushed. Men will often talk about difficulty breathing. If you watch movies and TV shows where people are supposed to pretend they have a heart attack, they will often clutch their chest as if they are in pain.
It’s important to note that women may have much different heart attack symptoms, however. Their symptoms are much more likely to include things like neck pain, jaw pain, indigestion, nausea, general discomfort and fatigue. They may also have trouble breathing or chest pain, of course, but this may not be the main symptom that they notice.
Why is this a problem?
This becomes a problem if medical professionals assume that they know what a heart attack looks like, but they’re really just thinking about what it looks like in a man.
Say that a woman is rushed to the emergency room because she believes she’s having a heart attack. The doctor who meets with her tells her that she is experiencing a panic attack or indigestion. After all, she can breathe normally and she doesn’t have any chest pain, so he never even considers that it could be a heart attack.
But that woman would not get the proper treatment – or would at least see a significant delay. If she went home to rest, as is often prescribed, she could pass away from the heart attack without medical intervention.
Have you suffered harm because of a doctor’s mistake, or have you lost a loved one due to medical malpractice? You may be able to take legal action.