What are the warning signs of a heart attack?

Hey Guest,

You should seek medical attention at the very moment when it seems to you that you are having a heart attack, before it is too late. Pay attention to your body and call 911 if you feel chest discomfort (most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain), discomfort in other areas of the upper body (symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach), or shortness of breath (with or without chest discomfort)

Women tend to have a bit more different warning signs of a a heart attack than men do. As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain. They may also feel other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

I would suggest calling an ambulance at the very moment you feel any of these symptoms, it is very important that everything is done on time if you don't want to have any consequences later.

Guest, learn the signs, but remember this: Even if you're not sure it's a heart attack, have it checked out. Minutes matter! Fast action can save lives, maybe your own. Calling 911 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Emergency medical services (EMS) staff can begin treatment when they arrive — up to an hour sooner than if someone gets to the hospital by car. EMS staff are also trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Patients with chest pain who arrive by ambulance usually receive faster treatment at the hospital, too. It is best to call EMS for rapid transport to the emergency room.

Hi Guest,

I believe that we are all hoping to hear from you soon, to hear that you are doing okay and that you didn't have a heart attack. Maybe the symptoms that you felt were just caused by a lot of stress because of the things that you are going through right now.

Heart attack is not something to mess with. Like others wrote above, it is very important to call for an ambulance when you think that you are having a heart attack, this action can definitely save your life.

I hope to hear from you soon, just to know that you are all right. 

Well, that was exactly what I was afraid of. I don't know why I haven't seek for the medical help, but I was thinking that this is because of the stress. I don't know, maybe because no one in my family never had similar issues. Or maybe this is all because of the stress? I mean, can stress be one of the causes of the heart attack or not? I am going to call my doctor today because I felt really bad today. But I have also read that there is a possibility to have this so called silent heart attack and I don't know what this means and could I have this one?

Everything described here is very good advice but it won't tell you if you are about to have a heart attack. Every one of the symptoms are also every day aches and pains we all get. That's what makes it so difficult to know what to do. What you describe sounds more like a panic attack to me but the only way to know is to go get checked out by medical professionals such as the emergency room.

When I went in before my heart attack all I had was a nagging back ache. I decided it wasn't going to let me get to sleep so I went to the ER. I didn't have the heart attack until I was in the ER waiting for them to bring in the machine to do an EKG. While I was sitting there I suddenly began to sweat and the white clock on the wall started to look green. I hollered to a nurse who was passing by outside the door and suddenly I was the center of attention. If I had decided to try to get to sleep at home for a little longer I probably wouldn't be here now.

One interesting thing. Months later when I was in cardiac rehab a team from Dartmouth came by looking for people to come to a survey about our experiences. They wanted us to describe everything beginning with when we headed to the hospital. The interesting thing is that of about 30 of us there all but one of us drove to the ER ourselves. The only one who went by ambulance was on a cruise off the coast of Alaska and they had an ambulance meet the ship. So apparently most people are pretty well informed about the symptoms of a pending heart attack, enough so they do something well before it actually happens.

 

Once I was talking with my friend and we were talking about heart attacks. I told her that I don't know what this is since I never had one and I don't know what possible symptoms of this can be. I have heard about this cardiac rehab as well. I don't know exactly what this is, but I have heard that this rehab helped a lot of the patients after the heart attack. I suppose that we are talking about some exercises or something like that, right? I can tell you that I am not informed well about heart attack and symptoms generally, but I am going to visit my doctor tomorrow. Wish me a good luck and I will try to inform you about this. Thank you for this huge post, it is really helpful.

First and the most common sign of possible heart attack is when you are breathless. If you have trouble while you are breathing, than you are in the huge trouble. This is a first wake up call! Call your doctor.

If you have a very high blood pressure, you should react as well. Chest discomfort is also one of the signs that you should pay your attention at. Heartburn, stomach pain and nausea are also the symptoms of possible heart attack. Also, if you feel dizziness, that could be very dangerous as well. Those are all possible symptoms that you should tell your doctor about it

Everyone told you the truth. Those are the warring signs. But there are three sings that are really important and that you should not ignore – not ever! Unusual fatigue is one of those signs. You should pay attention to fatigue if it is new or dramatic. Here’s what to watch out for. For example, if you can’t do your exercises like you did them before, that can be a problem. Also, sometimes simple activities, like making your bed or something that is easy like that are making your very tired. That is worrying. If you are sweating a lot and if you are losing your breath occasionally, those are warning signs as well.

If you even think you might be having symptoms, go and let them sort it out.
Cardiac rehab is an exercise program where they monitor you after the medical people are done with you and decide what you can do for exercise. They monitor you closely as you are exercising to determine how you are doing. You will be glad you did it as it shows you what you can do and gives you confidence in what you can do. It also helps you build up physically.

I had a friend who recently died of a massive heart attack. She would always complain of heart burns and stomach problems. She was only 41 years old. As far as I know, she had no medical problems. How so that heart burn or stomach problems are symptoms of a heart attack?