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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Heart attacks may be a leading cause of death among young women, but a new study finds many women under the age of 55 do not even recognize the symptoms of a heart attack.
The number of young women in this age group who die from coronary heart disease is roughly the same as the number of young women of the same age who die from breast cancer. Studies have also shown young women with heart disease are twice as likely as similarly aged men to die in the hospital. Researchers from Yale School of Medicine conducted a study on 24 women who had heart attacks and were admitted to the hospital.
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For the study, researchers asked the women about their symptoms before their heart attack and if they recognized the symptoms and knew they were at risk for heart disease.
Study authors report nearly 90 percent of the women had typical chest pain, but only 42 percent of the women thought something was wrong with their heart. The women also reported less common symptoms including jaw pain, shoulder pain, sweating, nausea, shortness of breath and indigestion.
Researchers also found out that only half of the women went to the emergency room within the first hour of their symptoms. They say it seems many young women are just not connecting their symptoms to heart disease. The authors add doctors need to get the message out to young women who are at risk for a heart attack so that they know the symptoms and are aware of their own risk factors.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: The American Heart Association's 8th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in Washington, D.C., May 9-10, 2007
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