HEART ATTACK! Can It Happen to Young People?
Do young people have heart attacks? Are women at higher risk? Every year in the United States, more than 1,000 people between the ages of 35 and 44 experience coronary artery disease. Studies show that men have more heart attacks than women, even under age 50. However, women are more apt to die after suffering a heart attack. One of the reasons women may be more likely to die after a heart attack is because symptoms of a heart attack in women may not be as obvious as they are in men. While a man may experience acute heartburn, chest pain or pain radiating down the left arm, a woman’s symptoms can be much milder. A woman may feel fatigue, shortness of breath or lightheadedness and indigestion – symptoms that could easily be attributed to other causes, such as anxiety.