Atypical Symptoms of a Heart Attack

A heart attack can feel entirely different for a woman than a man.  

Fortunately, Kay Rosensteel, 75, recognized that the upper body discomfort she had occasionally been experiencing for the past month had escalated to a heart attack one August afternoon. The Spring, TX retiree had been feeling soreness from her elbows to her shoulders and across her upper chest and upper back. 

“It didn't go away as quickly that afternoon. It was the fifth or sixth time that it happened and I just thought, ‘well, this is something that's for real,’” Kay recalled. 

Her husband called 911, and within minutes, the medics arrived and began following an emergency cardiac protocol with the ER team at St. Luke’s Health-The Vintage Hospital.

Paramedics Ed Roth and Katie Brunette from the Harris County Emergency Services District 11 (ESD 11) suspected that Kay was having a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a type of heart attack where the coronary artery is blocking oxygen from the heart. They initiated an EKG,  administered IVs, and activated the Pulsara communication system, which notified the hospital they were en route. “Once the hospital receives that alert, they're able to receive our onsite data, they can pull up her history if she's been there before, and it alerts the cardiac team and the cath lab to get ready,” Brunette said. Katy noticed the preparedness.  “When we arrived at the ER, I could see they were lined up and ready for me. They just zipped me in there,” she said.

It turned out that Kay suffered from severe atherosclerosis or plaque buildup that was preventing blood flow to the heart. She was rushed to the hospital's catheterization lab where Cardiologist Karim Abdur Rehman cleared a 100% blockage of the right coronary artery using tiny balloon stents in a moderately invasive procedure. The Vintage ER and cath lab teams performed the procedure in only 28 minutes, well below the national standard of less than 90 minutes.

“Time is tissue,” explained Curtis Townsend, Director of Emergency Services at St. Luke's -The Vintage. “We make sure our protocol is exactly the best. We are always asking ourselves, ‘how can we save time? What kind of things can we do to make things go faster? It's a real team effort that involves a lot of training, preparation, protocols, checklists and discipline,” he said.

Kay’s left coronary artery was also blocked up to 80%. Four days later, the cardiac catheterization team, led by Cardiologist Mohammed Khan, resolved that blockage as well, implanting three stents using the same procedure. Kay stayed in the hospital a total of 6 days during which all of her heart blockages were cleared. 

Kay exercised regularly and though she had never experienced any heart issues before, she did have a family history of heart trouble. “I was in deep denial. Over the last year, I knew I was not breathing as well. I would exercise on the elliptical and stair stepper and could not go anymore. I thought my shortness of breath was related to sinus problems. When I look back, I should have known better,” she said.

Kay feels great now and is resuming her exercise regimen. She is grateful to God for the 911 team, the EMS team and all the teams at St. Luke’s -The Vintage and feels blessed that she survived the potentially life-threatening ordeal. 

“Everyone was incredible. The doctors and nurses were so precise,” she said.  Kay was celebrated as the honored heart survivor at the American Heart Association's Northwest Houston Heart Walk on October 18. She hopes her experience underscores the importance of women listening to their body’s warning signs.  “Nothing is too small or irrelevant,” she insisted. “Everybody's different. Listen and take action.”