UAMS News
November 3, 2003
UAMS Reports in Groundbreaking Study:
Women’s Unusual Fatigue, Other Symptoms
Could Warn of Impending Heart Attacks
LITTLE ROCK – Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) report today that women in a study who had heart attacks remembered having unusual fatigue or other new symptoms as much as a month beforehand – suggesting a new way to stop heart attacks before they happen.
“New or different fatigue, sleep problems, shortness of breath, indigestion, and anxiety could be early warning signs of heart disease,” Jean C. McSweeney, Ph.D., R.N., of the UAMS College of Nursing, said. “The appearance of these new symptoms, in conjunction with women’s standard cardiovascular risk factors, should help providers recognize women who should be thoroughly checked for heart disease.”
McSweeney was the lead researcher in the study which Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, published today. In a three-year study of women in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Ohio, the UAMS researchers found that 95 percent of women who had heart attacks remembered having new symptoms more than a month beforehand. The American Heart Association called the study, funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, “one of the first comprehensive examinations of issues that might allow prevention of imminent heart attack in women.”
The most common early symptoms that women remembered were unusual fatigue (70 percent), sleep disturbance (48 percent), shortness of breath (42 percent), indigestion (39 percent), and anxiety (35 percent). The symptoms stopped after their heart attacks. Only 30 percent of women in the survey remembered chest discomfort, which they usually described as aching, tightness, or pressure, but not pain.
“Women need to understand that the appearance of new symptoms could warn of imminent heart attack or developing heart disease, especially if they have other cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, being overweight, or a family history of heart disease,” McSweeney said.
In earlier studies, McSweeney and her colleagues found that women who remembered a variety of symptoms in the month before their heart attacks either ignored the signs or were misdiagnosed when they sought medical help.
Women also tend to have different symptoms during heart attacks. Rather than the chest pain that men typically experience, women are more likely to have shortness of breath (58 percent), weakness (55 percent), unusual fatigue (43 percent), cold sweat (39 percent), and dizziness (39 percent).
“Lack of chest pain may be a major reason why women have more unrecognized heart attacks than men or are mistakenly diagnosed and discharged from emergency departments. Many clinicians still consider chest pain the primary symptom of a heart attack,” she said.
The Arkansas-North Carolina-Ohio group was primarily Caucasian, so McSweeney is now studying ethnic minorities. The other UAMS researchers on the project are Marisue Cody, Ph.D., R.N., and Patricia O’Sullivan, Ed.D.
Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas continue grant to improve rural health care
The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas on Oct. 25 presented a check for $20,000 to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), continuing their support for a five-year program designed to reduce cancer incidence and mortality in rural areas of Arkansas.
October 24, 2003
UAMS Child Car Seat Safety Checks Nov. 1
LITTLE ROCK – The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) will give free child car seat safety checks Saturday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., at War Memorial Stadium. Cars in line in the stadium parking lot at 1 p.m. will be seen. No new cars will be admitted after 1 p.m. Spanish…
October 22, 2003
Nov. 2-8: Allied Health Professions Week Health Career Opportunities Are the Best Ever, UAMS Dean Says
LITTLE ROCK – High demand for graduates and one of the country’s best selections of career tracks mean the career opportunities in health care in Arkansas have never been greater, according to Dean Ronald H. Winters of the College of Health Related Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). UAMS offers degrees…
October 21, 2003
UAMS Laser Could Open Up World of Tiny Lymph Vessels to Scientists
LITTLE ROCK – A researcher at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has won a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant for experiments that could lead to new therapies for controlling the spread of disease agents, including metastacizing cancer cells. The UAMS study seeks to understand the fundamentals of lymphatic function. A new…
October 15, 2003
UAMS Chancellor Elected to Board of National Organization
LITTLE ROCK – Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), is a new member of the board of directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers. Wilson was elected at the association’s recent annual meeting Oct. 3-4 in Key Biscayne, Fla. A national, non-profit organization, AHC has served…
October 14, 2003
UAMS Respiratory Care Student in Texarkana
TEXARKANA, Ark. – Esmeralda Briley of Texarkana, Ark., a fourth-year respiratory care student in the College of Health Related Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), will receive a prestigious national award for her respiratory care research. The American Respiratory Care Foundation will present Briley with the 2003 Robert M. Lawrence, M.D.,…
October 9, 2003
Of Arkansas’ “Best Doctors,” More than Half Are on UAMS Faculty
Of Arkansas’ “Best Doctors,” More than Half Are on UAMS Faculty
Warren Kids First Health Fair Promises Something for Everyone
Warren Kids First Health Fair Promises Something for Everyone
October 8, 2003
UAMS Reports Bone Loss from Oral Diabetes Drug
UAMS Reports Bone Loss from Oral Diabetes Drug
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