Doctor Shares 5 Heart Attack Symptoms Women Should Watch For Early Detection

A longevity and preventive medicine expert has highlighted five early warning signs of heart attacks in women, stressing that symptoms are often subtle and can easily be mistaken for fatigue, stress or digestive issues, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Dr Vassily Eliopoulos, a Cornell University-trained longevity physician and co-founder and chief medical officer of Longevity Health, shared the advisory on social media, noting that heart attack symptoms in women frequently differ from the “classic” warning sign of severe chest pain.

He warned that this difference often results in missed or late detection, increasing health risks. He explained that heart attacks remain a major cause of death among women, in many cases even more lethal than certain cancers combined. According to him, the seriousness of the condition is often underestimated because early symptoms do not always appear to be directly linked to the heart.

One of the key warning signs he identified is unusual fatigue. Unlike ordinary tiredness after a long day, this fatigue can appear suddenly and may persist for days or weeks before a heart attack. He noted that many women describe feeling unusually exhausted by routine tasks they previously managed with ease, and this exhaustion does not typically improve with rest or sleep.

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The second sign is shortness of breath without chest pain. Dr Eliopoulos explained that this symptom can occur during everyday activities such as climbing stairs or carrying groceries and is often misinterpreted as poor fitness or low stamina. He cautioned that this should not be ignored, especially if it appears suddenly or worsens over time. The third warning sign is pain that may not originate in the chest.

Instead, women may experience discomfort in areas such as the jaw, neck, shoulders or upper back, often on the left side. He described this pain as sometimes resembling muscle strain or persistent tension that does not go away, making it easy to dismiss. The advisory is part of a broader effort by health experts to raise awareness of gender differences in heart attack symptoms and encourage earlier medical attention, particularly when multiple subtle signs appear together.

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