A TV doctor has warned that women experiencing a heart attack are often told their symptoms are the result of anxiety, when they could signal something far more serious. Dr Nighat Arif, a specialist in women's health who has appeared on the BBC and ITV and regularly shares advice on social media, recently posted a TikTok video explaining that heart attack symptoms in women are frequently brushed off as less serious.
"You're too anxious - that's what too many women hear while their heart is literally struggling for oxygen," she said. "And I see it in my clinics as well, because we were taught heart attacks look like a man clutching his chest. It's sharp, it's dramatic, it's obvious. But over the years, as somebody who does women's health and I've realised in women it's not the case at all. It's quieter, it's easy to dismiss, it's easier to miss."
Five red flags women should know
Dr Arif outlined these "red flags" she said all women should be aware of:
- Breathlessness that you can't explain
- Nausea that won't settle
- Dull spread of pain in the back, between the shoulder blades, and possibly in the jaw
- A sense that "something is deeply wrong"
- Flu-like symptoms
Higher death risk for young women
Dr Arif continued: "Here's the truth we don't say loudly enough. Young women are twice as likely as men their age to die in the year after a heart attack." She added: "Not because their hearts are weaker, because their symptoms were overlooked, dismissed, delayed. This isn't rare, this is happening every day."
She urged: "So I want you to know this. If something feels off, even if it doesn't look like a heart attack, trust your body. Think about it as being a heart attack in women, because women have cardiovascular disease risks and they're often told it's probably just anxiety."
Do men and women experience heart attacks differently?
It is sometimes said that women and men experience heart attacks differently, with men tending to experience more severe, sudden symptoms. However, this is a myth, according to the British Heart Foundation. The charity says: "Symptoms can vary from person to person, but there are no symptoms that are more common in women than in men."
But it warned that this misconception can itself have a damaging impact, resulting in women being less likely to seek treatment. "These misconceptions may also delay diagnosis, making poor outcomes more likely," it said. "Coronary heart disease kills more than twice as many women than breast cancer in the UK every year. But despite this, it's often considered a man's disease."
The charity added that the most common signs of a heart attack are sudden and persisting pain or discomfort in the chest that feels like pressure, tightness, or squeezing; the pain may spread to either arm, the neck, jaw, back, or stomach; and you may also feel sick, sweaty, light-headed or short of breath.
