All these warning signs can signal a heart attack in progress. Delay time in women is longer than in men. Delay costs lives. New treatments, if given quickly, can stop a heart attack in progress. These treatments work best if given within an hour of the first warning signs.
Heart attack is the number one cause of death among women.
Women are more likely to die of heart attack than of any other cause, three times more likely to die of heart attack than breast cancer. At older ages, women are twice as likely as men to die from heart attacks within a few weeks of the attack. Women have heart attacks, on average, when they're older. Some 85 percent of all heart attack deaths in women occur over the age of 65. Older age makes diagnosis more difficult, contributing to delay.