Study shows that in women, heart attack is not always accompanied by chest chain

"Women less than 55 years old are more likely to have their ACS misdiagnosed in the ER than men, and they have higher risk of death," adds first author Dr. Nadia Khan, associate professor of Medicine, UBC. "The public and physicians need to be aware of this problem."

Pain not an indicator of disease severity

Drs. Pilote, Khan and colleagues evaluated more than 1,000 young patients who were hospitalized for ACS. Their findings showed that women were less likely to experience chest pain compared with men and that the absence of this pain did not correlate with less severe heart attacks. Patients without chest pain had fewer symptoms overall but their ACS was not less severe. The diagnosis of ACS, therefore, depended on detailed cardiological assessments.

"It is important to remember that chest pain is a main indicator of ACS, but not the only one," says Dr. Pilote.

"We need to remind ourselves that even without chest pain, something serious could still be happening," adds Dr. Khan.