Heart health campaign urges women to learn heart attack symptoms and make call for help

More women die of heart disease than men, but according to the American Heart Association, half of all women in the United States don't know symptoms of a heart attack.

Dr. Lori Mosca is trying to change that.  Mosca is the lead physician for the "Make the Call, Don't Miss a Beat" campaign.  According to its website, the campaign educates and helps women and their families learn common symptoms of a heart attack and to call 9-1-1 immediately if symptoms arise.

A woman suffers a heart attack every 90 seconds in the United States, yet Mosca said only 50 percent of women would call 9-1-1 to help themselves.  Seventy percent would call to help someone else.

"Women need to recognize that...every minute they delay they increase their chance of death," said Mosca, who is also the spokesperson for the U.S. Office of Women's Health.

Most people are familiar with at least one symptom: the crushing chest pain. The less common symptoms, Mosca said, are light headedness, shortness of breath, radiating pain, nausea, cold sweats and extreme exhaustion.

You can find out more information on the campaign's website: http://womenshealth.gov/heartattack .