Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. — more than cancers or car wrecks.

But only about half of women are aware of that fact, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For decades, cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes were thought of as men’s health issues. But awareness is growing about the risks for women, too.  

“We’re getting out into the communities and educating our patients and their families about the unique symptoms of cardiovascular disease that women experience,” says Dr. Jacqueline Sennott, a Tidelands Health cardiologist. 

The traditional presentation of a heart attack feels like an elephant sitting on your chest, or there’s a sharp pain in your neck, jaw or arm.

But women often have an atypical presentation for heart disease.

They usually don’t have chest pain and may instead feel fatigued, lightheaded or nauseous. This makes it harder for women to know when to take the symptoms seriously.

“Symptoms in women are more nonspecific and therefore they’re easy to downplay or think that it’s just heartburn or indigestion,” Dr. Sennott says.

That’s why women often have worse outcomes when it comes to heart disease. A delay in getting a diagnosis can mean a delay in treatment. And if you have to have surgery to open up a closed artery, quick intervention is key.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, you should call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department:

• Weakness or tiredness
• Dizziness
• Pain or discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back
• Shortness of breath
• Upset stomach

“Those subtle clues are worth paying attention to,” Dr. Sennott says.

There are many different risk factors when it comes to heart disease: diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, genetics — especially a family history of premature heart disease — and smoking, to name a few.

Postmenopausal women are also more at risk because their bodies no longer produce high levels of estrogen, which helps protect the heart.

Making healthy choices by eating a good diet, exercising regularly, not smoking and limiting alcohol can help reduce your risk. Know what symptoms to watch for, and mention any concerns to your primary care provider.

Work with your provider to monitor your cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar and get those numbers under control if they’re high. Additionally, a calcium score test, also known as a heart scan, can tell you a lot about your risk.

Tidelands Health offers this quick, painless and non-invasive test to measure the amount of atherosclerotic plaque buildup in your coronary vessels. The total amount of plaque is calculated to determine your heart scan score, which is an accurate predictor of your heart attack risk.

Heart scan is offered at Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital and Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital. Test results will be interpreted by a board-certified radiologist and provided to your family medicine physician for follow-up. 

“Educating yourself and knowing your numbers and risk can help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Sennott says.