This important to be aware of for our own well being. Please pass it on.

Subject: A Heart Attack By A Woman Who Knows/ 
 
It's true that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men
have when experiencing a heart attack...you know, the sudden stabbing
pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the
floor that we see in the movies. This is what happened to one   

Woman:
I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO
prior exertion; NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect
might've brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold
evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my
friend had sent me, and actually thinking,"A-A-h, this is the life, all
cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up."  A
moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've
been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a
dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed
a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most
uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and
needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water
to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial
sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything
since about 5:00 p.m. After that had seemed to subside, the next
sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up
my SPINE (hindsight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed
as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one
presses rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process
continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. AHA!! Now I
stopped puzzling about what was happening--we all have read and/or heard
about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening,
haven't we?

I said aloud to myself and the cat, "Dear God, I think I'm having a
heart attack!" I lowered the foot rest, dumping the cat from my lap,
started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to
myself "If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next
room where the phone is or anywhere else.......but, on the other hand,
if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer
I may not be able to get up in moment." I pulled myself up with the arms
of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the
Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to
the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I
didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she
was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was
near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor
where they could see me when they came in. I then laid down on the floor
as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics
coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me
into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on
the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the
Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping
the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over
me asking questions (probably something like "Have you taken any
medications?") but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying,
or form an answer, and nodded o ff again, not waking up until the
Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram
balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they
installed two side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.

I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have
taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually
it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station
and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was
ready to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart
(which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and
installing the stints.

Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I
want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned
first hand.

1.Be aware that something very different is happening in your body 
..not the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until
my sternum and jaws got into the act ). It is said that many more women
than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they
were having one, and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some
Maalox or other anti-heartburn" preparation, and go to bed, hoping
they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up....which doesn't
happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine,
so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly
happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a "false
alarm" visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics". Ladies, TIME IS OF THE
ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER--you're a hazard to
others on the road, and so is your panicked husband who will be speeding
and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.
Do NOT call your doctor--he doesn't know where you live and if it's at
night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants
(or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't
carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics
do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified
later.
3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal
cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated
reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably
high,and/or accompanied by high blood pressure.) MI's are usually caused
by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts
of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be
aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10
people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

 **Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you
care about**
http://www.incredimail.com/index.asp?id=101218 

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