Women's Heart Health

Over the last ten year there has been a loss of 100,000 women in Australia. That might be a mother, daughter, Nana, daughter in-law, aunt, or your sister which is horrendous when you stop and think about how many lives are affected and grieved. Each hour of the day someone is lost from heart disease.
Most people think that the heart is located towards the left of their chest when in fact it is in the center of our chest, slightly to the left between the right and left lungs just left of the breastbone.

Every Minute counts when someone is experiencing any signs and symptoms of a heart attack and many women don't recognize these. What can be occurring could be sudden partial or complete blockage of a coronary artery that supplies the heart muscle with blood. Changes to the heart rhythm is a life-threatening situation as it is sometimes called a silent killer and once blood is withheld from an area of the heart muscle, that tissue begins to deteriorate ad can die. 

Signs & Symptoms

For some, sudden cardiac arrest may be the first sign, but for others most will have some warning and in some instances for days or even weeks.I have heard this many times and i'm sure you may have also. Women are more likely than men to have heart attack symptoms unrelated to chest pain and describe it more of discomfort or indigestion or pressure rather than pain. Below are the more typical signs:

• Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort.
• Shortness of breath.
• Pain in one or both arms.
• Nausea or vomiting.
• Sweating.
• Light-headedness or dizziness.
• Unusual fatigue.

Some people such as the elderly, women (as we are discussing) those managing diabetes as well as Indigenous, Maori & Pacific Islanders, more commonly, have typical signs and symptoms. Knowing the warning signs is critical for the above-mentioned groups and if they ever experience any signs no matter how insignificant they feel they are they should seek urgent medical assessment.

Prevention is going to be the best thing we all can do. A general heart health check with you doctor is a great beginning and will alert you to any personal risks or risk factors such as blood pressure, cholesterol, lifestyle, clinical or even family history. Women are jugglers of time, commitments, work, children, family etc and often struggle to find energy to look after themselves or even to make and keep an appointment with their doctor.
The Heart Foundation's June campaign 'Making the Invisible Visible' is for women to be supported and educated assisting this horrible statistic to be far reduced.

Management

It is vital for anyone experiencing the signs and symptoms of a heart attack to rest in a comfortable position, this may mean encouraging them to stop what they are doing, even if they feel it's important and needs to be completed.
​Ask them if they have Angina and where their medication is located. 

It will be either a tablet or an oral spray that they can put under their tongue and should start to ease the pressure within a few seconds. Will take longer to resolve it for them and if it does then their is no need to call an ambulance, however if it doesn't work as usual for them go ahead and make that call (000).
If they don't have Angina and they are getting worse, symptoms are severe or last longer than 10 Minutes you should also call an ambulance (000).
Reassure them, as you stay with them encouraging them to keep their breathing as controlled as possible, watch their skin for any colour changes  and decrease of conscious levels as you may be required to initiate CPR( Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and use an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) if available. Keep in touch with the 000 operator and they will support you through out the incident. Remember to stay calm. At times the they may require you to administer aspirin (300 mg) and dissoluble type is preferred if available. When the ambulance arrives give them the information as they ask you.

These actions may save someones life
Choose to B-The One to Make a Difference!