Dr Oz: 5 Heart Disease Warning Signs
From the minute the patient’s heart stops, their life is in Dr Oz’ hands. Most may relate heart disease as a man’s disease, but Doctor Oz says that ¼ of his patients are women. In fact, it is their #1 killer.
For the first time, Dr Oz allowed cameras into his operating room as he performed a triple bypass on a 63-year-old woman with 4 kids. The woman on the operating table missed all of the warning signs, and now her life was in Dr Oz’s hands. Dr Oz showed the procedure real time, as he and his team of doctors harvested healthy veins from her leg and used them to reroute the damaged done. The operation would take the patient to the brink of the death and would stop her heart, to where she actually flat lined. After the operation, the blood will be able to flow past damaged areas and function normally again.
They showed the attempts to restart the patient’s heart, but they have some trouble doing so.
Dr Oz Heart Attack Warning Signs
Finally, it restarted. Even though the operation was a success, Dr Oz stated that the patient was not out of the woods until she woke up.
Dr Oz: Heart Disease Warning Signs
1. Neck, jaw, shoulder pain
2. Nauseated
3. Shortness of breath
4. Dizziness and light-headedness
5. Extreme and unusual fatigue
Dr Oz brought up 5 women who exhibited these warning signs. Four of the women were in their 40s and one woman wasn’t even in her 30s yet.
Jennifer, the first audience member, stated that she had jaw, neck and shoulder pain. One particular day, she had taken multivitamins and went about her day. She said she had the feeling of the pill being stuck in her throat. She felt a pain that went down to her chest, arms and then to her back. Jennifer is CPR trained for her job and she thought she was having a heart attack. Her husband, an FDNY fire officer, was the one who told her that she should go to the hospital. He saved her life that day.
How do you know it’s not just a regular pain in the neck? Dr Oz says the difference is that you should be able to pinpoint the pain.
Sarah, the second audience member, told Dr Oz that she had nausea and indigestion. She went to a cardiologist, who decided to test her. She had a life threatening aneurism of the aorta. Doctor Oz said that when a person dies from heart disease, doctors looked into the stomach for antacids because people who die of heart disease normally believe it’s just indigestion and take antacids for it.
Dr Oz: Heart Attack vs Indigestion
-Pain is above breastbone
-Pain doesn’t go away with antacid
Jen, the next audience member, told Dr Oz that she had a shortness of breath. She would walk through the train station and notice she was out of breath. As a self-test, Dr Oz suggested talking when you’re walking. If you can’t speak comfortably, it may be a weak heart.
Kim, another audience member, stated she had dizziness and lightheadedness. She was also having shortness of breath, but she took it as a reaction to rushing through life. One morning, her heartbeat was racing and erratic. Her husband took her to the emergency room. (She was actually one of Dr Oz’s patients.)
Dr Oz Heart Attack Signs
It may be a heart attack if:
-Shortness of breath
-Accompanied by other warning signs, such as chest pains
Michelle, the last audience member, stated that she had unusual fatigue. Dr Oz says that 70 percent of women who have heart problems have fatigue days leading up to heart attack. She was 27 and went to school to study cardiac ultrasound. Another student wanted to use her as a guinea pig because they saw she was having issues. What they found shocked her. Michelle found out that she would need open-heart surgery. She told Dr Oz that she wore a necklace to hide the scar from her open-heart surgery. Dr Oz told her that she shouldn’t be embarrassed and should wear that scar as a badge of honor because without that scar, she wouldn’t be here today!
Dr Oz Shortness of Breath Test
Dr Oz Test for Shortness of Breath: Note if there is a change in how you’re walking around, carrying groceries or doing simple things.
Dr Oz tested Michelle’s heart on stage with a cardiogram and showed her results. Her heart was healthy and functioning perfectly.
Florence says
My mother died of a heart attack. She had heart disease. I have been very fatigued neck pain, indigestion, headaches and at times I will get nauses at times. My cholesterol LDL is higher than it should be. Heart disease runs in my mothers side of the family. I am going to be the same age as my mother was when she died. What would your recommendation be?