Heart attack symptoms in women: call 999 and say the words

SASian Anderson, Writer and editor, MyGLP. Sources checked 5 November 2026.

The symptoms are the same for women and men

You may have read that women have different heart attack symptoms. The British Heart Foundation says there is no separate set of "women's symptoms". Women and men mostly have the same signs. The difference is in recognition: women, and sometimes the people treating them, are slower to think of the heart because heart attacks are wrongly seen as a man's problem.

The NHS and the BHF list the main signs:

• Chest pain or discomfort that comes on suddenly and does not go away. It can feel like crushing, squeezing, heaviness or pressure.
• A burning feeling like indigestion.
• Pain spreading to either arm, the neck, jaw, upper back or stomach.
• Feeling sick or being sick.
• Sweating.
• Feeling short of breath.
• Feeling light-headed, or pale, blue or grey skin.
• Less commonly: sudden anxiety like a panic attack, severe tummy pain, or a lot of coughing or wheezing.

The pain is severe for some people and only uncomfortable for others. You may not have every symptom. The BHF notes that heart attack pain usually spreads to the jaw, arm or back and lasts longer, while panic attack pain tends to stay in the chest.

How many people know the signs

When NHS England launched its heart attack campaign in 2023, it surveyed the public. 70% recognised chest pain as a symptom. Only 41% knew sweating was one, and 27% recognised feeling weak, light-headed or uneasy. The campaign noted that women's risk rises after the menopause.

The gap in the numbers

In 2016 a BHF-funded team at the University of Leeds studied 564,412 heart attack patients on the UK national heart attack register. Women had about a 50% higher chance of a wrong first diagnosis than men. Women who were misdiagnosed had about a 70% higher risk of dying within 30 days than women diagnosed correctly.

The gap appeared in both main types of heart attack. For a STEMI, where a heart artery is fully blocked, women had a 59% greater chance than men of a wrong first diagnosis. For an NSTEMI, the more common type where an artery is partly blocked, the figure was 41%.

In 2019 the BHF published wider figures in its Bias and Biology report.

The same BHF work estimated that over 8,200 women in England and Wales died over ten years because they did not receive the same standard of care as men. Twice as many UK women die from coronary heart disease as from breast cancer.

This is a story of evidence catching up. Doctors, nurses and paramedics are acting on these findings. The research behind them was led by BHF-funded cardiologists including Dr Chris Gale in Leeds and Professor Nick Mills in Edinburgh. The women in research guide explains how trial gaps fed into the problem.

Why minutes matter

About 7 in 10 people survive a heart attack, and the figure rises to over 9 in 10 for people who reach hospital early, according to NHS England. The BHF says delay can cause serious heart damage and makes intensive care and a longer hospital stay more likely. An ambulance crew starts treatment on the way, which is why the advice is to call 999 rather than get a lift.

What to say on the phone

Use the words "chest pain" and "I think I am having a heart attack". Describe what you feel, where it spreads and when it started. Do not offer a softer explanation such as indigestion or stress. The call handler needs your symptoms, not a guess at the cause, and the crew can rule things out once they reach you.

What to do while you wait

1. Call 999. Say "I think I am having a heart attack."
2. Sit down and stay as calm as you can.
3. The NHS and BHF advise taking aspirin while you wait if you have some and are not allergic. Tell the call handler if you have taken any.
4. Keep your phone with you and stay where the crew can reach you.

Risk factors that hit women harder

The BHF reports that smoking raises a woman's heart attack risk up to twice as much as a man's, high blood pressure raises it 80% more, and type 2 diabetes raises it 50% more. Risk also rises after the menopause as oestrogen falls. Our heart health after menopause guide covers blood pressure, cholesterol and the free NHS Health Check.

If you are taking a weight loss medicine

Nausea, indigestion and tummy pain are common side effects listed in the Mounjaro leaflet and other weight loss medicine leaflets, and those symptoms overlap with heart attack signs. Do not assume new chest pain, pressure or indigestion that comes with sweating, breathlessness or spreading pain is the medicine. Call 999 and let the crew decide.

After the emergency

If you were sent home and the symptoms come back, call 999 again. Afterwards, ask your GP what the hospital found and whether you need tests, and bring a written note of what happened. The GP preparation guide has a checklist. You have a right to see your records and ask questions about the care you received.

Sources

1. Heart attack (British Heart Foundation)
2. Heart attack: symptoms (NHS)
3. Women and heart attacks (British Heart Foundation)
4. Women are 50 per cent more likely than men to be given incorrect diagnosis following a heart attack (British Heart Foundation, 2016)
5. Heart attack gender gap is costing women's lives (British Heart Foundation, 2019)
6. NHS launches lifesaving campaign to help people spot a heart attack (NHS England, 2023)
7. Mounjaro patient information leaflet (Eli Lilly, via the electronic medicines compendium)