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American Morning

House Call: Fatigue and Heart Attacks

Aired November 04, 2003 - 09:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A new study looks at some early warning signs in women that could predict heart attacks.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN Center with details for us.

Hey, Sanjay. Good morning.

And before we actually get into this study, give me a sense of how big a problem heart attack is for women.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, very important point to start with, Soledad. It is the No. 1 killer of women, heart disease, that is. About 500,000 women a year die from heart disease. People think of breast cancer typically. About 10 times as many women die from heart disease than breast cancer. So an important point you raise right at the beginning.

Also Important why the study that's come out is so important as well, looking at some of the symptoms that women actually present with, if they're having symptoms of heart disease.

Take a look at some of them. These will surprise you. Actual unusual fatigue in 71 percent of the women who went on one month later to have a heart attack. Sleep disturbances, about 48 percent. Shortness of breath, 42 percent. So these are numbers I think are surprising to a lot of people. People, obviously, think classically of chest pain. That was not one of the more common symptoms women complained of before the heart attack.

A little bit about this study, 515 women were surveyed. They actually were called on the telephone after they had had a heart attack. And these were all women who had a history of heart disease. It's not say that every woman who has any sort of fatigue should call their doctor, saying I'm having heart pains, or chest pains, or heart attack, but rather that they should be concerned if they have a history of heart disease or if they're concerned about diabetes or something else like that. But some interesting numbers there, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: So, Sanjay, are you saying that, essentially, women differ significantly from men when it comes to how a heart attack will present itself? And so by going back to the classical descriptions of a heart attack for women, those are relatively useless?

GUPTA: Well, I wouldn't say that they're useless. But you know, people sort of think of the Hollywood heart attack, someone sort of clutching their chest and that's what typically a heart attack symptoms are. Well, that may be true, but it's more so in men. I think people are starting to realize that now. Women have different symptoms that they'll often have before having a heart attack. About 30 percent only of the time will they actually have chest pain as one of their primary symptoms of a heart attack, an important number there as well.

So I think the real take-home message -- talked to a lot of cardiologists about this topic, two messages they want to get across is remember that heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of women, as well as men, and two is that if you have a concern about heart disease, don't wait until just chest pain to know that you're having a heart attack. If you're feel unwell, if you're have sleep disturbances, unusual fatigue, things like that, that should prompt a visit to your doctor as well -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right. Sanjay, thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 4, 2003 - 09:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A new study looks at some early warning signs in women that could predict heart attacks.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN Center with details for us.

Hey, Sanjay. Good morning.

And before we actually get into this study, give me a sense of how big a problem heart attack is for women.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, very important point to start with, Soledad. It is the No. 1 killer of women, heart disease, that is. About 500,000 women a year die from heart disease. People think of breast cancer typically. About 10 times as many women die from heart disease than breast cancer. So an important point you raise right at the beginning.

Also Important why the study that's come out is so important as well, looking at some of the symptoms that women actually present with, if they're having symptoms of heart disease.

Take a look at some of them. These will surprise you. Actual unusual fatigue in 71 percent of the women who went on one month later to have a heart attack. Sleep disturbances, about 48 percent. Shortness of breath, 42 percent. So these are numbers I think are surprising to a lot of people. People, obviously, think classically of chest pain. That was not one of the more common symptoms women complained of before the heart attack.

A little bit about this study, 515 women were surveyed. They actually were called on the telephone after they had had a heart attack. And these were all women who had a history of heart disease. It's not say that every woman who has any sort of fatigue should call their doctor, saying I'm having heart pains, or chest pains, or heart attack, but rather that they should be concerned if they have a history of heart disease or if they're concerned about diabetes or something else like that. But some interesting numbers there, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: So, Sanjay, are you saying that, essentially, women differ significantly from men when it comes to how a heart attack will present itself? And so by going back to the classical descriptions of a heart attack for women, those are relatively useless?

GUPTA: Well, I wouldn't say that they're useless. But you know, people sort of think of the Hollywood heart attack, someone sort of clutching their chest and that's what typically a heart attack symptoms are. Well, that may be true, but it's more so in men. I think people are starting to realize that now. Women have different symptoms that they'll often have before having a heart attack. About 30 percent only of the time will they actually have chest pain as one of their primary symptoms of a heart attack, an important number there as well.

So I think the real take-home message -- talked to a lot of cardiologists about this topic, two messages they want to get across is remember that heart disease is still the No. 1 killer of women, as well as men, and two is that if you have a concern about heart disease, don't wait until just chest pain to know that you're having a heart attack. If you're feel unwell, if you're have sleep disturbances, unusual fatigue, things like that, that should prompt a visit to your doctor as well -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right. Sanjay, thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com