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Writer's pictureSGFIRSTAID

Six Heart Attack Symptoms In Women

Remembering them could help save the life of your mother, wife, sister or daughter

Six common heart attack symptoms in women

  1. Chest pain or discomfort that suddenly occurs and doesn’t go away (not everyone gets this)

  2. Pain radiating to the arms, neck, jaw, stomach and back

  3. You may experience pain in just one or all of these places; for some people the pain is severe but for others just uncomfortable

  4. A feeling of indigestion or reflux type pain – people often ignore this hoping it will pass.

  5. Feeling sick, sweaty, breathless or lightheaded with associated chest pain or discomfort

  6. A general feeling of being unwell or lethargic can also be an indicator of a heart attack when accompanied by chest pain or discomfort.

If you think you, or someone you are with is having a heart attack call 995 for an ambulance immediately

First Aid for Heart Attacks

  • Get the casualty to sit down in a comfortable position

  • Reassure the casualty to reduce anxiety and panic

  • If aspirin is easily available and the casualty isn’t allergic to it, get them to slowly chew and then swallow an adult-sized tablet (300mg) while waiting for the ambulance. The aspirin helps to thin the blood and restore the heart’s blood supply

  • If you are the casualty and you are alone and don’t have an aspirin next to you, or if you don’t know if you’re allergic to aspirin, just stay resting until the ambulance arrives.

  • If possible, get someone to open the door for the paramedic as this saves time.

  • Monitor airway and breathing and prepare to start CPR, if required

Are you confident you could save a life with CPR? If not, let one of our experienced paramedics teach you how on one of our first aid courses.

Every day, 16 people die from cardiovascular disease (heart diseases and stroke) in Singapore. Cardiovascular disease accounted for 29.5% of all deaths in 2016. This means that nearly 1 out of 3 deaths in Singapore is due to heart diseases or stroke.

Heart disease, is the leading cause of death among women in Singapore but many are still unaware of the dangers posed by this “silent killer”.

The 2020 Go Red For Women Survey commissioned by Singapore Heart Foundation reveals that only 9% of the Singaporean women (vs 10% in 2016 and 9% in 2010) know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in Singapore.

The results of the Go Red for Women Survey conducted in 2020 also found that:

  • Only 8% had a conversation on cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related topics with their doctor in the past 12 months.

  • 17% are hypertension patients who own a blood pressure (BP) monitor (vs 12% in 2016).

  • 73% can identify chest pain and 59% identify shortness of breath as the more common warning signs of heart attack.

  • Overweight, obesity and physical inactivity are more prevalent among those aged 50 to 64.

  • 8 out of 10 females say they feel more motivated when exercising with their partner, families or friends.

  • 54% of those aged 21 – 34 believe they are not at risk of heart diseases.


With the belief that everyone has the ability to save a life, SGFIRSTAID aims to raise awareness of this important life-saving skill and increase the number of people trained in CPR.

Learning CPR is an important part of first aid training, and its rapid administration is critical, thus having a qualified first aider on hand who can remain calm under pressure is quite useful. When dealing with emergency circumstances, becoming trained in first aid procedures can make you feel more comfortable and confident since you will know the most efficient ways to deal with the problem. An added benefit of this is that the people around you, be it children, adults and others around you, will also feel more reassured knowing that there are trained people on site.


If you’re interested in finding out more about the application of first aid principles and how they can help you, your organisation and those around you, we offer a comprehensive e-learning courses on first aid.


These are courses which can be accessed at any time to help train you and those around you at times which suit them, developed by experts to assist with practical first aid training.


To find out more about First Aid course:

Do contact us at

Tel: 62978123

WhatsApp: 86715681

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