Study gives insight into cause
of heart attacks in women
By Renee C. Lee
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Unusual fatigue and sleep
lessness might be early warning signs of a
heart attack in women, a study suggests.
The study, published Monday in the
American Heart Association journal
Circulation, surveyed 515 women who had
heart attacks and found that 95 percent had
such symptoms as much as a month before
they were stricken.
Chest pains can be early indicator of a
heart attack, but 43 percent of the women
in the study said they
never experienced chest
discomfort, said
researcher Jean C.
McSweeney.
The study is the first
time researchers have
identified fatigue and
sleeplessness as possible
early warning signs of a
heart attack in women.
“If we can get women
to recognize the symptoms
early, we can get them
treatment and prevent or
delay a heart attack,” said
McSweeney, a professor at
the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences in Little Rock. “That’s why the
early symptoms are significant.”
The researchers said they do not know
whether the findings also apply to men,
who tend to have somewhat different
symptoms when a heart attack strikes.
The study surveyed women ages 29 to
97 who had been released four to six
months earlier from five hospitals in
Arkansas, North Carolina and Ohio after
suffering a heart attack. They were shown
a list of 70 symptoms they may have expe
rienced during the months leading up the
heart attack and were asked to rate them
based on frequency and severity.
Almost all the women — 95 percent —
said they had new or different symptoms
more than a month before the heart attack
that went away afterward.
The most common symptoms reported
were unexplained or unusual fatigue, 71
percent; sleep disturbance, 48 percent;
shortness of breath, 42 percent; indiges
tion, 39 percent; and anxiety, 35 percent.
Only 30 percent said they experienced
chest pain before the heart attack.
The women had more than just ordinary
fatigue and sleeplessness.
“The fatigue is unex
plained and unusual. They
are more tired at the end of
the day then they usually
are,” McSweeney said.
“For some, it’s so severe
that they can't make a bed
without resting as they tuck
the sheets. It interferes with
their normal activities.”
The study emphasizes
the need to educate
patients and doctors about
early warning signs,
McSweeney said.
“Heart disease is the No.
1 killer of women, yet women are more
afraid of breast cancer. They don't realize
heart disease is the thing they need to fear,”
she said.
Dr. Nieca Goldberg, a cardiologist at
Lenox Hospital in New York, said the study
could change the way doctors practice.
“If doctors are aware of the early
warning signs, they will be more likely to
accurately diagnose and take care of the
problem before a heart attack and it could
lead to better heath care for women,”
Goldberg said.
Heart disease is the
No. 1 killer of women,
yet women are
more afraid of^
breast cancer.
— Jean C. McSweeney
University of Arkansas for
Medical Sciences in Little Rock
WOMEN’S HEALTH
Fatigue, a warning
for heart attacks
Women who are at-risk of heart
disease and have unusual
fatigue or trouble sleeping could
be experiencing an early warning
sign of a heart attack, a study
found. As many as 95 percent
of women experienced some
early symptoms. The survey
studied 515 women.
Common early symptoms
occurring before a heart attack
Unusual fatigue
71 %
Sleep disturbance
48 %
Shortness of breath
■■■HHHI 42 %
Indigestion
■■■■■I 39 %
Anxiety
■■■■■ 35 %
Chest discomfort
30 %
SOURCE: American Heart AP
Association
Goldberg said woman often are not
accurately diagnosed because they may not
have the classic symptoms seen in men.
Those symptoms include pressure in the
center of the chest that radiates down the
ann or neck.
In contrast, women in the study
described aching, tightness and pressure in
the back or high chest.
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2003 - 2004
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Who’s Who applications are now available for both graduate
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Sterling C. Evans Library
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By Betsy Blaney
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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“Buck” Revell. “You cat
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promises about prosecution,
could not do that, andldoutf'
ously that they did do that."
Others have been criticalti
government in the case,
no criminal, colleagues have!
In August, the Nan
Academy of Sciences protest I
Attorney General John Ask
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and Butler’s prosecution,
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