The Signs

While the risk factors and treatment for heart disease and stroke are the same for women and men, the symptoms are often quite different and much more subtle among women.

Class symptoms

• Heaviness, fullness, pressure, squeezing, tightness or discomfort usually in the centre of the chest that lasts longer than a few minutes, or comes and goes
• Pain may also be felt in the arms, the left shoulder, neck, jaw or back
• Pain is often accompanied by sweating, nausea and vomiting
• Pain may or may not be accompanied by shortness of breath, dizziness or fainting

Other symptoms more likely in women

• Unexplained weakness or fatigue
• Anxiety or unusual nervousness
• Indigestion or gas-like pain
• Feeling of heaviness or pressure-like chest pain between the breasts or beneath the breastbone
• Discomfort/pain between the shoulder blades, neck, jaw or stomach

The warning signs of stroke

• Numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Confusion, difficulty in speaking or understanding speech
• Difficulty in seeing with one or both eyes
• Difficulty in seeing with one or both eyes
• Difficulty in walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause
• Fainting or unconscious