It's the number one killer of women and can strike even healthy women in their 20s! It's estimated heart disease kills 450,000 women each year, and one in three women in the United States have some form of heart disease.
In many cases the symptoms can be subtle, not necessarily the classic chest crushing pain. Andrea Williams, who shared her story at the annual "Go Red for Women Luncheon" in Rancho Mirage Friday, suffered from a heart attack at age 29.
"I started getting tingling in my fingers it went up my arm then I started breathing really really heavily, I'm thinking oh my goodness what's wrong," said Andrea Williams. She says the symptoms started while she was driving her children to school. She called 9-1-1 and was told she was probably just having an anxiety attack.
A mis diagnosis that's not uncommon. "We were a little slow to recognize that heart disease manifests differently in women than it does in men," said Dr. Matilde Parente, a medical safety consultant. She says the symptoms that women need to watch for include pain in the back, jaw, shoulder or abdomen. Also shortness of breath, dizziness nausea or vomiting.
Doctors say diabetes is one of the top risk factors for heart disease, as well as obesity and high blood pressure. Other risk factors include family history and smoking, but heart disease doesn't discriminate it can happen at any age.
Survivors and doctors say getting checked or treatment at the first sign that's something wrong is the most important thing you can do. "Be persistent about it. You're your own advocate...it will save your life, it really will," said Williams.
For more information on heart disease and reducing your risk
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