Hidden symptoms of cardiac disease – following Lisa Marie Presley’s Death

Lots of people have been shocked by the sudden death at 54 from cardiac arrest of a seemingly healthy middle-aged woman Lisa Marie Presley. She died less than two days after an appearance at the Golden Globe Awards. There were speculations that her unsteadiness while on camera, and the stomach upset she was experiencing that day, may have been symptoms of the cardiac dysfunction that ended her life.

Published on everythingzoomer.com on February 8th, 2023, the article by Judy Gerstel titled “What you need to know about cardiac disease following Lisa Marie Presley’s Death at 54” raised some issues that you have to be aware of.

Hidden symptoms of cardiac disease

University of Alberta research shows that 78% of cardiovascular symptoms are missed in women because they present with at least three additional symptoms over and above chest pain and discomfort compared to men. Among the symptoms women may experience:

• Shortness of breath
• Pressure, pain or discomfort in the lower chest, upper abdomen, neck, jaw or shoulders
• Indigestion, heartburn, nausea or vomiting
• Dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting
• Upper back pressure
• Extreme fatigue
• Sweating, including cold sweats

These symptoms are typical for women with cardiovascular disease, the No. 1 cause of death in Canada for women over the age of 55. Women can also experience a heart attack without chest pressure.

Cardiovascular disease is No. 1 cause of death in Canada for women 55+

February is Heart Month. In 2023, the focus of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is women. It’s about time that women were front and centre when it comes to cardiovascular disease, say experts in women’s health. Gaps in research, diagnosis and care are threatening women’s lives, warns the foundation.

Of the women who are sent home from emergency departments annually in Alberta, 300 of them will return within 30 days having suffered a heart attack. Furthermore, the research found that, of 450 emergency departments across Canada, only one has a female-specific protocol for women presenting with cardiovascular symptoms.

Manitoba teacher Michelle Logeot was only 51 when she experienced weakness and fatigue and was sweating a lot for months. “I was told I had anxiety, depression, menopause, a cold, flu, pneumonia, a prolapsed vagina, kidney stones.” No one would take her concerns about the possibility of cardiovascular disease seriously.

After she survived cardiac arrest – “I flatlined,” she says – Logeot underwent a procedure to open three arteries with stents. “You have to advocate for yourself and if you have a doctor who dismisses you, then you have to find another one who will help,” advises Logeot.

A Female Focus

“Women weren’t included in clinical trials and the data and guidelines for heart disease and heart attacks are based on clinical trials,” explains University of Alberta associate dean of research and nursing professor Dr. Colleen Norris, Cavarzan chair in Mature Women’s Health at the University of Alberta.

“We don’t even have the clinical evidence to support what treatments work for women,” she says. “We’re still working on diagnosing women’s heart health. We’re still working on being able to identify the symptoms.”

The data on diagnosis and treatment may be missing but the data on misdiagnosis and death are telling: 1 in 2 Canadian women who experience a heart attack have their symptoms go unrecognized. As well, the number one cause of premature death in women in Canada is heart disease and stroke.

More heart research needs to be done in relation to a women’s life cycle, through peri- and menopause, says Norris. The female disadvantage when it comes to heart disease is that the emphasis on research has always been constrained to obstetrics and gynecology, she says. “Bikini medicine” is the term Norris uses for the focus on women’s health. “Parts of a woman that can be covered by a bikini.”

But the fact that’s been ignored in research is that women’s hearts and other organs are different down to the cellular level and research findings that apply to men don’t automatically apply to women.