What the studies say
Everyone knows (or should know) the classic signs of myocardial infarction, male and female, namely: the pain that squeezes in the chest like a vice and sometimes (but not always) radiates into the jaw , the arms, the back. “This pain in the chest can fade in the background, and be accompanied by palpitations, shortness of breath, unusual fatigue, diffuse pain – for example, in the back or jaw”, indicates Professor Mounier-Véhier. “More than 90% of women who suffer a heart attack before the age of 50 present classic heart pain. Other atypical symptoms concern especially elderly women,” specifies Dr. Laprérie. In any case, a call to 15 is justified.
Heart attack, stroke: the action plan for women’s hearts
Objective: better inform women and those around them so they know when to call 15. Because in reality, women call emergency help later than men – 120 minutes compared to 84. “Ideally, we have to act within three hours after the onset of the first symptoms to make the artery permeable blockage when the alert goes off,” insists Dr. Laprérie.
The knowledge of this variety of symptoms avoids the loss of time and limits the risk of the effects, especially the risk of heart failure, which causes a survival rate five years after the diagnosis of about 50% (Institut Pasteur of Lille).
In case of hit reactivity is as decisive: the sudden appearance of neurological disorders, such as difficulty moving an arm, leg or side of the body, loss of vision in one eye, inability to speak or find words , you need to call 15 without. delay to the fastest possible treatment in a neurovascular unit.
Finally, heart attack or stroke, prevention remains the best asset to avoid the accident or recurrence. In this area, a good point for women, more present in the 269 Heart and health club of the FFC or similar, so useful to recover and maintain a better quality of life, taking care of their form, supervised by health professionals, and also appropriate physical activity. “It is reassuring and easier to resume physical training while being well surrounded”, encouraged Dr. Laprérie The circle of the family should therefore encourage the women concerned to take all the time necessary to take good care of themselves: it is not the time lost They will return to their life before the heart attack even better, and in a better shape, they must stop putting the health of their loved ones before their own,” urges Dr. Laprérie.
No experts
– Professor Claire Mounier-Véhier, cardiologist in the department of vascular medicine and hypertension, Lille University Hospital
– Father Geneviève Plu-Bureaugynecologist at the Cochin-Port Royal hospital in Paris
– Dr. Anne-Laure Laprériecardiologist at the University Hospital of Nantes, vice-president of the French Federation of Cardiology.