Heart attacks are often portrayed as sudden and unmistakable — crushing chest pain, gasping for breath, collapsing to the ground. But for many, especially women, the signs can be far more subtle. A recent case from Houston, Texas, has reignited the conversation around the often-overlooked symptoms of heart attacks and how misinterpreting them can delay life-saving treatment.

Nikki, a 46-year-old woman with no previous medical conditions, took to TikTok to share her personal story of surviving a heart attack. Her message? “Listen to your body.” What seemed like ordinary aches and fatigue turned out to be her body’s warning signals — ones she initially brushed off as symptoms of perimenopause.

Nikki’s story begins a week before her heart attack — with nothing more than a sore shoulder.

“It felt like I slept on it wrong,” she explained in a TikTok video that has now garnered over 7.5 million views. Like many women navigating their 40s, she chalked it up to perimenopause, suspecting a “frozen shoulder,” which is often associated with hormonal changes. The pain, while noticeable, didn’t alarm her.

But the next day, the discomfort persisted. More concerningly, it was accompanied by a wave of nausea that lasted about 15 minutes. Again, Nikki shook it off and resumed her daily routine.

On the morning of her heart attack, Nikki experienced the same dull shoulder ache and another wave of nausea. This time, though, things escalated. Her chest began to feel tight — a deep, squeezing sensation — and the shoulder pain started radiating down her arm.

Still, trying not to overreact, she took a warm shower to ease her symptoms. She felt better afterward and even proceeded to a doctor’s appointment for an unrelated issue.

At the clinic, Nikki recounted her symptoms and asked if she should go to the emergency room. The doctor told her that unless the symptoms reappeared, an ER visit might not be necessary. Reassured but uncertain, she left. That decision nearly cost her life.

Just an hour later, as she stepped out of a restaurant after lunch, Nikki’s symptoms returned with alarming intensity.

“My chest felt like it was being squeezed as tight as you could squeeze it. The pain was now radiating all the way down my arm. I started sweating profusely,” she recalled.

Realizing the gravity of the moment, Nikki drove herself to the ER — just one street away. She walked up to the counter and said, “I need someone to look at my heart right this second.” A nurse saw her trembling and rushed her into care. Within minutes, doctors confirmed she was in the midst of a heart attack.

Quick action saved her life. But her story reveals how easy it is to ignore — or misdiagnose — early signs, especially in women without known risk factors.

Nikki’s experience underscores a well-documented issue in cardiovascular health: women often experience different, less-recognized symptoms of heart attacks compared to men. While classic signs such as chest pain, shortness of breath, and left-arm pain are common in men, women may experience:

Fatigue

Indigestion or nausea

Pain in the jaw, back, or shoulder

Lightheadedness

Cold sweats

Because these symptoms don’t match the stereotypical heart attack portrayal, they’re often mistaken for other conditions like anxiety, menopause, acid reflux, or even the flu.

In Nikki’s case, shoulder pain and nausea were the warning bells — but they were too easy to dismiss until it was almost too late.

Why Heart Attack is A Rising Trend Among the Under-50s?

Heart disease has long been associated with older adults, but recent trends show an unsettling rise in heart attacks among those under 50 — especially women. In the UK alone, more than 2 million people are diagnosed with heart disease, and millions more live with undiagnosed high blood pressure, a leading risk factor.

Data from both the UK and US indicate that heart attacks in younger adults are increasing, driven by a blend of risk factors including:

Obesity

Sedentary lifestyles

High blood pressure

Diabetes

Chronic stress

Poor diet

What’s more, post-COVID delays in diagnostics, treatment, and even emergency response times have only worsened outcomes for younger patients.

Nikki’s case remains medically puzzling. Tests found no blockages or plaque buildup in her arteries — a common cause of heart attacks. Instead, a women’s heart specialist at The Texas Heart Institute attributed the event to a “perfect storm” — a combination of perimenopausal hormonal changes and a recent illness that may have inflamed her heart.

“She does not believe there’s a strong genetic link at this time,” Nikki shared. However, follow-up scans suggest she may have sustained some permanent damage to her heart, and she continues to undergo further testing and care.

Nikki’s viral TikTok struck a chord globally. Not only did it help other women connect the dots between vague symptoms and serious cardiac risks, but it also opened up a wider dialogue about how we talk about — and treat — women’s heart health.

In the comments, many thanked her for sharing symptoms that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Others expressed alarm at how easily the signs could be brushed off.

In Nikki’s own words: “Had I not been one street away from the ER, I might not be here telling this story.”

This story serves as a stark reminder that heart attacks don’t always look like they do in movies — and they certainly don’t only happen to older men with a history of heart disease.

If you experience unusual fatigue, persistent shoulder or chest discomfort, nausea, or any new and unexplained symptoms, don’t wait. Trust your instincts. Seek medical attention immediately — even if you’re “too young,” “too healthy,” or “too busy.”

In a controversial move that has rattled the U.S. medical community, federal health officials have severed ties with more than half a dozen major medical organizations from participating in government vaccine advisory workgroups.

The decision, communicated via email on Thursday, disinvites top experts from these groups from contributing to the workgroups that support the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a key body that guides the nation’s vaccination policies.

Organizations affected include the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and several others, many of whom have historically played a critical role in shaping vaccine guidelines.

“This is deeply concerning and distressing,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a renowned vaccine expert from Vanderbilt University who has been involved with ACIP workgroups for decades. “Removing these organizations will likely create conflicting messages about vaccine guidance. Patients might hear one thing from the government and another from their personal doctors.”

Longstanding Collaboration Ends Abruptly

For years, the ACIP has relied on a structured system where experts from various medical and scientific fields evaluate vaccine data and help draft recommendations. These recommendations, once approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), often inform clinical practice and determine insurance coverage.

But according to an email obtained by Bloomberg and confirmed by federal officials on Friday, the medical organizations are now being sidelined on the grounds that they are “special interest groups” and are assumed to carry a “bias” due to the populations they serve.

Dr. Schaffner defended the former system, highlighting how professional organizations offered practical insights on how recommendations could be realistically implemented in clinical settings. Importantly, all members were subject to conflict-of-interest vetting, ensuring objective guidance, he added.

Health Secretary Kennedy’s Sweeping Changes

This latest shake-up follows an earlier, unprecedented move in June when U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly dismissed the entire ACIP panel, accusing it of being too closely aligned with vaccine manufacturers. Kennedy, a former leader in the anti-vaccine movement, has since appointed several known vaccine skeptics to the new committee.

Among the organizations removed from the workgroup process are the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Geriatrics Society, American Osteopathic Association, National Medical Association, and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

In a joint statement released Friday, the AMA and several of the disinvited organizations denounced the decision, calling it “irresponsible” and “dangerous to our nation’s health.” The statement warned that excluding their medical expertise “will further undermine public and clinician trust in vaccines.”

The groups urged the administration to reverse the decision, emphasizing the importance of transparency and collaboration in public health decision-making.

Lawsuit and Fallout

Several of the ousted organizations had previously criticized Kennedy’s overhaul of the ACIP. Last month, three of them joined a lawsuit challenging the government’s decision to halt COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for most children and pregnant women, a policy shift that has been widely criticized by public health experts.

Meanwhile, newly appointed ACIP member Retsef Levi, a professor of business management with no formal medical background, defended the administration's direction on social media. Levi wrote that future workgroups would “engage experts from an even broader set of disciplines,” and claimed that membership would be based on “merit & expertise, not organizational affiliations with conflicts of interest.”

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has not yet disclosed which experts will replace the disinvited members or when the new workgroups will begin operating.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is assessing a potential travel notice for China following a sharp rise in cases of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne viral infection that has sparked public health alarms in southern China, as reported by the Independent and the South China Morning Post.

Nearly 5,200 infections have been reported in the Guangdong province since early July, with most of them concentrated in the city of Foshan. Health officials there have since escalated their emergency response to a level III alert, which signals a “relatively major” public health threat in China’s four-tier system.

While the CDC has not yet published a formal advisory, a spokesperson told The Independent that the agency is “aware of the reported chikungunya outbreak in Guangdong Province in China and is currently assessing the size and extent of the outbreak.”

What is chikungunya?

Chikungunya is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, the same mosquito species responsible for dengue and Zika. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of fever and joint pain, but may also include headache, muscle pain, swelling, and rash.

Although most cases are mild and self-limiting, some infections can lead to prolonged joint pain or, in rare cases, long-term complications. Serious outcomes are more likely among those with pre-existing health conditions. There are no antiviral treatments available, so prevention, particularly mosquito control and bite avoidance, remains the primary approach.

Vaccines against chikungunya have recently become available and are recommended for travelers to high-risk areas, although they are not yet widely accessible.

According to local health authorities in Foshan, around 95% of reported cases have been mild, with patients recovering within a week. However, the outbreak’s rapid spread has raised concern among international health bodies.

Global spread and WHO alert

The outbreak in China follows a global pattern of chikungunya resurgence. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert last week warning of the risk of the virus repeating its global spread from two decades ago. Diana Rojas Alvarez, a medical officer with WHO, said that nearly 5.6 billion people across 119 countries live in areas where the virus could potentially spread.

Chikungunya was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania and has since been detected in more than 110 countries, including major outbreaks in India, Italy, and the Americas. The virus is not spread from person to person; instead, it is carried by mosquitoes that have fed on infected individuals and then pass it to others.

The concern is not just local: international travel plays a key role in how the virus crosses borders. Infected travelers returning to or visiting countries with mosquito populations capable of transmitting the virus can trigger new outbreaks.

China’s response: Mosquito control and surveillance

The first case in this outbreak was reported in Foshan’s Shunde district on July 8 and was believed to be imported. Since then, local and national health authorities have moved quickly to contain the spread.

Measures taken include the use of drones to detect rooftop water accumulation, the release of larva-eating fish into lakes, and widespread public awareness campaigns. Residents have been urged to eliminate standing water, install window screens, and wear protective clothing.

Hospitals in affected areas have increased bed capacity for confirmed cases and designated specialized treatment centres. Border controls have been stepped up in Hong Kong to prevent imported cases from mainland China, with expanded testing capabilities introduced at key entry points.

CDC travel warnings: What it means for travelers

The CDC’s travel health notices are used to inform travelers about global disease risks and provide precautionary guidelines. The warning system has four levels, ranging from “practice usual precautions” (Level 1) to “avoid all travel” (Level 4).

As of now, China has only a Level 1 travel health notice for measles. However, the CDC has issued Level 2 notices for chikungunya in several countries including Bolivia, Kenya, and Madagascar in recent months.

If the CDC decides to escalate China’s status, it would be a significant development, both in terms of travel planning and diplomatic perception.

US–China tension and public health

The potential issuance of a travel notice also comes against the backdrop of complex US–China relations. While the CDC’s move would be grounded in public health data, the optics of a travel warning could have broader implications.

On Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded to the reports, saying that China is in communication with the WHO and “making every effort to ensure a safe environment for travelers.”

The WHO has not issued any travel restrictions related to the outbreak but continues to monitor the situation closely.

A word of caution for travelers

With mosquito-borne diseases on the rise globally, driven by climate change, urbanization, and increased mobility, health experts advise travelers to stay informed and take preventive measures.

“Mosquito control is key,” said an official from the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection. “Simple actions like using insect repellent, sleeping under mosquito nets, and avoiding stagnant water can go a long way in preventing infection.”

As global health agencies monitor the chikungunya outbreak in China, travelers to affected areas should remain vigilant and stay updated with official advisories. Prevention remains the best protection in the face of a disease with no cure.

August is known as the Hair Loss Awareness Month and the first Saturday of this month is known as the International Alopecia Day.

Hair loss is a common concern, affecting over 85% of men, 55% of women, and between 15–38% of adolescents at some point in their lives. For those with advanced or long-lasting alopecia, the emotional and social impact can be profound.

Baldness has been linked to significant declines in mental health and quality of life, with higher rates of anxiety, depression, stress, and reduced self-esteem.

What Is Alopecia?

It is a term used for hair loss that affects the scalp or even the entire body, temporarily or permanently. Alopecia can happen due to variety of reasons, including heredity, hormonal changes, and medical conditions, or as simple as normal aging.

Aim of Alopecia Day

The day aims to form a community of those who experience this autoimmune disease.

Origin of International Alopecia Day

International Alopecia Day was initiated by American activist Lynn W. Walker in 2011. She herself lives with a diagnosis of alopecia totalis and created this day to unite people with similar experiences, reduce stigma, and highlight beauty and strength regardless of the presence of hair.

Theme of Alopecia Day 2025

This year's theme as per Alopecia UK is, 'Strength in Numbers', which urges more and more people to join the International Alopecia community and to do away with the shame of hair loss and form a support group, across the world.

Alopecia And Its Kinds

As per the National Library of Medicines, US, alopecia refers to the loss or absence of hair in areas where it normally grows. It can be localized or widespread, temporary or permanent, and affects people of all ages and genders. As a symptom with diverse underlying causes, alopecia is generally categorized into two main types: nonscarring (the most common) and scarring (cicatricial).

For many patients, hair loss leads to significant emotional distress and a reduced quality of life. Accurate diagnosis requires a thorough history, physical examination, and targeted investigations to identify the root cause and guide effective treatment. Managing alopecia can be challenging, but this overview outlines key assessment and treatment approaches for the most common forms to support better outcomes.

Forms of alopecia

There are several main types of alopecia, including:

alopecia areata: an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss, often in small, round patches on the scalp, but it can occur anywhere on the body

alopecia totalis: complete loss of scalp hair

alopecia universalis: hair loss over the entire body

androgenetic alopecia: hereditary baldness

Ways You Can Participate In International Alopecia Day

• Learn and share knowledge about alopecia
• Participate in activities for Alopecia Day
• Embrace the symbol by wearing blue
• Share you story to build a support group
• If you are a doctor, you can also advocate for the right alopecia treatment
• Contribute financially to alopecia research and awareness groups
• Volunteer to help spread alopecia awareness
• Raise voice against bullying, as many people are bullied due to their hair loss