Heart attack symptoms in women
Heart attack symptoms in women include chest pain or pressure, but women are more likely than men to also have shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, pain in the back, jaw, neck or arms, cold sweats, lightheadedness or sudden unusual tiredness. If you think it could be a heart attack, call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, right away. Do not drive yourself.
Why it matters: Women more often have symptoms beyond chest pain, and knowing them prompts the call.
Steps
- Learn the signs: chest pain, pressure or squeezing, and also breathlessness, nausea, back, jaw, neck or arm pain, cold sweat, lightheadedness and sudden fatigue.
- If symptoms start, stop what you are doing and call your local emergency number, 911 in the US.
- Say: I think I may be having a heart attack, and give your exact location.
- Unlock the door and sit somewhere you can be reached.
- Do not drive yourself or wait to see if it passes.
- If someone near you collapses and is not breathing normally, start hands-only CPR and send someone for a defibrillator.
- Take a certified CPR class so you can act for someone else.
Stop and call a professional if
- any possible heart attack symptom lasts more than a few minutes or comes and goes: call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, now
Common mistakes
- Waiting because there is no crushing chest pain.
- Blaming symptoms on stress, heartburn or the flu without getting checked.
- Driving yourself to the hospital instead of calling for an ambulance.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: Heart attack symptoms in women
What to say
Heart attack symptoms in women include chest pain or pressure, but women are more likely than men to also have shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, pain in the back, jaw, neck or arms, cold sweats, lightheadedness or sudden unusual tiredness. If you think it could be a heart attack, call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, right away. Do not drive yourself.
What to show
- Learn the signs: chest pain, pressure or squeezing, and also breathlessness, nausea, back, jaw, neck or arm pain, cold sweat, lightheadedness and sudden fatigue.
- If symptoms start, stop what you are doing and call your local emergency number, 911 in the US.
- Say: I think I may be having a heart attack, and give your exact location.
- Unlock the door and sit somewhere you can be reached.
- Do not drive yourself or wait to see if it passes.
- If someone near you collapses and is not breathing normally, start hands-only CPR and send someone for a defibrillator.
- Take a certified CPR class so you can act for someone else.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if any possible heart attack symptom lasts more than a few minutes or comes and goes: call your local emergency number, 911 in the US, now.
Check question
Which symptom is more common in women having a heart attack than many people expect?
Answer: Jaw or back pain with nausea. Women often have symptoms beyond chest pain, such as jaw, back pain and nausea.
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Related skills
Sources
- US national heart health guidance on heart attack warning signs, 2025. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .