Women often experience new or different physical symptoms as long as a month or more before experiencing their heart attacks. These symptoms are often different from men's. In addition to the usual symptoms experienced by both sexes, women can experience abdominal discomfort or indigestion and maybe a burning sensation in the chest or upper abdomen. Their symptoms are also usually more subtle. Women experience chest pain occur less frequently than do men. Doctors have to be careful to make sure they do not miss a woman's signs during the office examination.

The most important treatment for a silent heart attack is restoring the blood flow to the heart. These silent attacks lack the majority of the usual symptoms of a standard heart attack but can still be recognized through ordinary signs such as discomfort in your chest, arms or jaw that seem to go away after resting, fatigue or extreme tiredness, nausea, sweating(particularly cold sweat), breathlessness and dizziness. An interesting statistic is that 25-30% of all heart attacks are silent.

With women, symptoms can be so vague and even mild that if it weren't for the nagging feeling that something is wrong she might just ignore her symptoms completely. This intuition to seek care when something is wrong may also be a part of the problem. Women tend to seek treatment more often than men do so their doctors may be less likely to think this is a serious condition than they would if the tables were turned.

Ladies, we have to acknowledge that there are times when we shouldn't pass off tell-tale signs just because we're busy. Or write it off to "just stress." Sure, it could be, but what if your heart's trying to tell you something?

Some of the "sneakier" signs of a female heart attack include:

1.Extreme fatigue and paleness.

2.Unexplained anxiety.

3.Abdominal pain.

4.Back pain.

5.Fainting spells.

6.Racing heart.

7.Cold sweats.

And these are just some of the symptoms women may face.

It is important if you are a woman and you have symptoms that you seek medical treatment immediately. The in women, the common symptoms are:

o Unexplained fatigue or extreme tiredness

o Shortness of breath

o Nausea (not relieved by antacids or even burping)

o Heart burn that won't go away with antacids and

o Cold sweats

o Chest discomfort

o Pressure low in the chest

o Panic or anxiety attack symptoms without the trigger

Those at risk for silent heart attack include diabetics, who are more prone to this type of attack, as well as women, the elderly, and those diagnosed with having heart disease. Presently, there are no clear cut guidelines for the treatment of patients who exhibit signs and symptoms of having a silent heart attack, or Non Q-Wave UMI, but recent clinical studies have been conducted to help find an appropriate treatment. Currently, the treatment for silent heart disease is no different than the care given to those who have already been diagnosed with heart disease.