Dr Anna Rolleston The Cardiac Clinic

May is women's heart health awareness month. I'm always surprised, when I present the statistics about heart disease, how gob-smacked ladies are at the impact heart disease has on women.

Heart disease still tends to be seen as a man's issue when in fact about 55 women in New Zealand die of heart disease every week – that's eight women per day!

Often women say to me: ‘Well that's an amazing statistic but I can't be at risk because I don't have any symptoms like chest pain'.

But the reality is nearly two-thirds of deaths from heart attacks in women occur among those who have no history of chest pain. Symptoms can vary greatly between men and women.

Most people think a heart attack feels like crushing chest pain but in reality, women can experience a feeling of indigestion, back and jaw discomfort and nausea.

Other associated symptoms women should be aware of include shortness of breath, light headedness and fainting.

The thing about heart disease is it is mostly preventable, and making changes to your lifestyle always has a positive impact on health, especially when those changes are made early – not to say that making changes at any age isn't helpful.

So May is breast cancer ‘Pink Ribbon' and women's heart health ‘Go Red for Women' month. As women, we are really well aware about breast health and self-checks.

So I encourage you in May, when you are considering your breast health, to also consider underneath your breast is your heart.