Women’s heart attacks are not like those shown in the movies. Signs and symptoms are different. Confero participated as a corporate sponsor for the American Heart Association’s “Triangle [Region] Goes Red for Women” Luncheon on Friday, May 7th in Raleigh, N.C. The event’s mission was to increase awareness of heart disease, the number one cause of death for women, and to encourage preventative measures that lower the risk of heart disease.

Confero employees, clients, and other participants visited mini-seminars, including a healthy cooking demonstration by a local chef, CPR instruction, and a fitness session, which included ways to incorporate exercise and stretching into a busy work day. Later, everyone enjoyed a heart-healthy lunch. It was a great day for a great cause !

Confero has adopted Go Red as a major focus for 2010. We are using our communication with thousands of mystery shoppers each day to get the word out about women’s heart health. The following are typical symptoms of a heart attack.

For men:

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.

• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness

For women:
As with men, the most common heart attack symptoms for women include chest pain or discomfort.
But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms:

• Shortness of breath
• Nausea/vomiting

• Back or jaw pain

Source: “ target=”_blank”> http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3053