Arrived at the ER with stomach pain — doctors discovered a heart attack
A 40-year-old woman was convinced she had digestive issues, but collapsed shortly after arriving at the HaEmek Medical Center ER. Tests revealed she had suffered a myocardial infarction. Doctors warn that women often experience atypical symptoms like stomach or back pain instead of classic chest pressure.
Last week, Esti Roitman, 40, from Northern Israel, arrived at the emergency department at HaEmek Medical Center after suffering for several days from worsening stomach pain that radiated to her back. "I was convinced it was a digestive system problem," she recounts. Shortly after arriving at the ER, she collapsed and lost consciousness, only regaining it in the cardiac intensive care unit.
"My partner and I went on a date," she recalls. "The next morning, I woke up with severe stomach pains. I asked him to call an ambulance. At the hospital, I went into the restroom and apparently collapsed. I don't remember anything from that moment until I woke up in the cardiac intensive care unit with my partner and sister by my side."
Dr. Wasim Asalim, a senior physician in the emergency department, describes the event:
"During a shift change, the patient collapsed in the restroom stall. We found her unconscious, without a pulse or breathing, and assessed it as an arrhythmia. We moved her to an ER bed and performed prolonged resuscitation for about half an hour."
According to Dr. Asalim, after the team restored her pulse, she lost it again. "We continued resuscitation with electric shocks, adrenaline, and ventilation. Once stabilized, the ECG revealed a myocardial infarction. We rushed her to the catheterization lab, where the cardiology team quickly performed a procedure to clear the blockage in her main artery. Happily, a day after the catheterization and stent insertion, she recovered completely. Thanks to early detection and optimal treatment, we saved her life without the brain damage that could have occurred in such a critical situation."
Heart attacks in women often manifest differently
Dr. Limor Bushari, director of the cardiology department at HaEmek Medical Center, notes that this case illustrates known gaps in identifying heart attacks in women.
"This is a classic case of a cardiac event that did not manifest in the way most of us are familiar with," she explains. "Many women do not necessarily experience chest pressure radiating to the left arm, but rather symptoms like stomach pain, back pain, extreme weakness, shortness of breath, or a general feeling of being unwell. This is one of the reasons for the delay in diagnosis and seeking treatment."
Dr. Bushari adds that gender medicine teaches us that symptoms of heart disease in women can differ from those in men. "It is vital to increase awareness, as early detection and quick action save lives."
Roitman hopes others will learn from her experience: "I didn't suspect for a moment that this was happening to me. I want every woman who reads my story to know how to listen to her body. I am grateful to the medical teams—thanks to them, I am here today. I was born twice at HaEmek Medical Center: the first time when my mother brought me into the world, and the second time the day I was reborn after resuscitation."
