SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
The most common cause for being admitted to the hospital is congestive heart failure. The second is for a heart attack.
The message for heart month is that heart health not just a man's issue.
Men start out with a higher risk for a heart attack. However, after middle age, women have the same risk as men for having a heart attack or stroke. But women have the higher risk of dying from either.
"God just didn't want you tonight." That's what the doctor told Pat Rutledge on the night she had three heart attacks back-to-back.
"I got here to work at 2 and [at] about 5, I felt a little dizzy," Rutledge said. She recalled going to the lounge and thinking she'd rest for a bit and be OK.
Dr. Jennifer Yeh, an interventional cardiologist, said that men typically have that crushing pain in the chest and get very sweaty, but that women may have a milder version of that. She added that woman might also just be horribly short of breath, out of proportion to what they're doing, have neck and jaw pain, feel dizzy and light headed and never have a chest symptom.
"About 10 years ago, they probably would have sent her home from the ER with some Mylanta," said Rebecca Haynes, of the Memorial Health Cardiac Rebab center.
No one sent Rutledge home. Within hours, she was in an operating room in open heart surgery where doctor cleared five of her heart arteries.
Yeh said they know that the risk for women who are post menopausal becomes equal to that of a man and then it gets worse. She said to avoid heart attacks to be active, watch your diet, avoid smoking and to control diabetes and high blood pressure.
"Some of the statistics on women I think are important to know, if women have their primary event their after first heart attack, they're more likely in next four years to have a second than men," Yeh said.
Rutledge said she takes education classes, eats right and does the right things to get back on track.
"We're all lax on preventative side men and women equally, because it's easy not to want to think about what's down the road when you're not having active symptoms at the time. I think that's just human nature," she said.
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Pat Rutledge
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