Nausea and abdominal pain can be signs of a heart attack in women

Nausea and abdominal pain may not be signs of digestive problems, but an early signal of a heart attack in women. This is because nerve impulses from the heart and digestive organs are transmitted to the brain through common pathways, which sometimes causes the brain to mistakenly "translate" heart pain as stomach discomfort.

As reported by BAKU.WS with reference to "Gazeta.Ru", this was explained by gastroenterologist Anna Menshchikova. According to her, women more often develop diffuse coronary artery disease affecting small vessels. This condition often proceeds without typical symptoms, but leads to oxygen starvation of the heart muscle, which manifests as weakness, discomfort, and sensations resembling stomach problems.

The specialist explained that during myocardial infarction, especially when the inferior wall of the heart is affected, there is active stimulation of the vagus nerve - a key regulator of the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, nausea, vomiting, a feeling of heaviness in the abdomen, as well as a sharp decrease in pulse and blood pressure may occur.

Hormonal and pain differences between men and women play an additional role. Estrogens affect vascular tone and pain perception, and women usually have a lower pain threshold. Therefore, a heart attack in women often proceeds atypically - with pronounced fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, pain in the back, between the shoulder blades, in the jaw or upper abdomen.

The doctor emphasized that it is impossible to distinguish cardiac pathology from gastrointestinal diseases on your own, however, there are alarming signs. If symptoms worsen during physical exertion, climbing stairs or stress and subside at rest, this may indicate heart problems, while digestive system diseases are more often associated with food intake.

According to the specialist, cold clammy sweat, sudden severe weakness, dizziness, feeling of shortness of breath, unexplained anxiety or fear of death are especially dangerous. Such symptoms require immediate ambulance call, as in most cases they are not related to digestive disorders.