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Can We Compare Monthly Cramps to Heart Attack? (Dr. Jen Gunter)

— No, for a couple of reasons

MedpageToday

Was it OK for the online publication to suggest that pain from menstrual cramps is "almost as bad as a heart attack"? No, says .

The reason it's a poor comparison is that menstrual pain is often worse than pain from a myocardial infarction, Gunter writes. She notes that up to 40% of women having MIs have no pain at all, and in others it's relatively mild. Pain does not always correlate with a condition's underlying seriousness.

"It would be dangerous for women to think that a heart attack should be at least as bad as their menstrual cramps," says Gunter.