Rosie O’Donnell sounds alarm for women after she has a heart attack

A health scare for star Rosie O’Donnell. The actress announcing she suffered a heart attack last week.

Now, she’s speaking out, trying to make other women aware of the warning signs.

She’s use to making us laugh—or making us mad. But O’Donnell is now making us think.

She writes in her blog, Rosie.com, about her heart attack after exerting herself to help a stuck woman get out of a car.

She writes:
“a few hours later my body hurt
i had an ache in my chest
both my arms were sore
everything felt bruised

O’Donnell writes that she thinks she strained or pulled muscle tissue.

But then writes:
“i became nauseous
my skin was clammy
i was very very hot
i threw up”

“The types of pain that comes from the heart play out differently in women than men. So, men get classic crushing chest pain, women get very atypical chest pain,” says Dr. Peter Buttrick, cardiologist with University of Colorado Hospital.

Dr. Buttrick says it’s critical women know their symptoms are different than men’s.

They also include: shortness of breath, upper back pressure, light-headedness, dizziness and pressure or pain in the lower chest or abdomen.

O’Donnell writes that she took some Bayer aspirin:

“thank god
saved by a tv commercial
literally”

“An aspirin was a great idea. It’s not compete therapy. But for initial therapy, it’s not bad,” says Dr. Buttrick.

But Dr. Buttrick says O’Donnell erred by not calling 911.

“Getting medical attention quickly is very important. So, she was a little bit late,” he says.

O’Donnell writes that 50% of women having heart attacks never call 911.

She writes:
“by some miracle I was not one of them”

And she doesn’t go to the doctor until the next day.

She writes:
“my LAD was 99% blocked
they call this type of heart attack
the Widow maker
i am lucky to be here”

“The thought this heart problem occurred to her, maybe two to three decades that might not have been the case. So maybe we are making progress. Maybe events like this increase awareness,” says Dr. Buttrick.

Doctors inserted a stent into O’Donnell’s heart artery.

She’s now at home and resting–but still urging  women to know the symptoms and to call 911.