Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women in the UK, killing twice as many women as breast cancer. Yet most people still imagine a heart attack as a man clutching his chest with pain shooting down his arm. According to NHS doctor Dr. Punam Krishan, this outdated image is misleading and dangerous because the signs in women are often very different and frequently missed.“Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the UK,” Dr. Krishan explains in an Instagram video. “It kills twice as many women as breast cancer, yet awareness is shockingly low.” The problem lies in what she calls diagnostic bias. Medical training, textbooks, and messaging have historically focused on male symptoms, leaving women out of the picture. This leads to missed or misdiagnosed heart attacks in women.When Chest Pain Isn’t the Main Sign Women often do not get the “classic” heart attack signs we have all been taught to look for. Instead, their symptoms can be silent, subtle, and easily dismissed as something less serious.“Women might experience chest tightness or pressure rather than outright pain,” Dr. Krishan says. “Other signs include sudden extreme tiredness, shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, jaw or neck pain, pain in the shoulders or upper back, dizziness, lightheadedness, cold sweats, or even just a gut feeling that something is not right.”That gut feeling, she insists, should never be ignored. “Over my 20 years as a doctor, I have seen too many women brush off these symptoms or worse, not be taken seriously when they speak up.”Why Women’s Symptoms Go Under the RadarHeart attacks in women are not just missed by doctors; they are often missed by women themselves. The tendency to downplay symptoms or chalk them up to stress, fatigue, or “probably nothing” is common. Dr. Krishan stresses that this cultural and personal dismissal is a huge risk.There is this habit of minimising what is happening in our bodies. “But one sentence—‘I’m worried this could be my heart’—could make all the difference.”This is where advocacy comes in. Women need to be louder about their health concerns, and healthcare professionals need to be better listeners. Timing is critical in heart attacks. The faster treatment begins, the better the outcome. But as Dr. Krishan points out, being heard is just as lifesaving.The Gender Gap in Heart Health AwarenessThe real danger, according to Dr. Krishan, is that public awareness has lagged far behind the reality. Breast cancer campaigns dominate health conversations about women, but heart disease is statistically the bigger threat. Yet because women’s heart attack symptoms are less evident than chest-clutching pain, they are often overlooked.This creates a vicious cycle. Women do not recognise the symptoms or delay seeking care, and by the time they arrive at the hospital, valuable minutes, or hours, have been lost. On the flip side, doctors themselves may not immediately think “heart attack” if the patient does not fit the classic picture.Listening to Your Body Dr. Krishan says listen to your body, trust your instincts, and never dismiss unusual symptoms. If something feels off, whether it is crushing fatigue, unexplained nausea, or dizziness out of nowhere, do not brush it aside.“Timing saves lives,” she stresses. “But so does being heard.”