"It feels like tightness in your chest, and you wonder in your head, am I having another heart attack?" she said.
It's not another heart attack, but angina, which is pain that comes when parts of the heart muscle don't get enough blood. The new study says that angina pains are seen in women 20 percent more frequently than in men. Other studies show that women often don't get the follow tests that men get.
"They carry the same mortality as men, and in the future, they can have heart attacks and if not diagnosed properly on time," said Dr. Bharathi Reddy, with New York Hospital. "It may cause death."
Dr. Reddy says that this report emphasizes that doctors should send women with symptoms for stress testing just as they do men with the same symptoms. Exercises, during which Debbie's heart is carefully watched, can relieve angina symptoms.
The point of cardiac rehab is to stimulate new blood vessels to grow in the heart muscle and bring new blood supply to it.
In only three weeks of rehab and using her medication, Debbie saw a difference.
"My blood pressure is going down and I haven't had chest pain," she said.
"If you have any chest pain or simply feel pain on exertion during your daily activities, seek medical attention," Dr. Reddy advises.
Women who are having a heart attack often have symptoms different from a man. The goal is to get more women tested for heart problems when they have symptoms that are not classic.
For the warning signs of heart attacks, Click Here.
