By Article Author
Understanding the signs and symptoms of a heart attack or sudden cardiac problems can save your life. You know your body better than anybody else and need to know when to call 911, when things change. If you are experiencing significant discomfort, that you have never felt before, it is best to call 911 for evaluation and transport to the emergency room. 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. Below are a few signs and symptoms that may indicate you are having a heart attack:
Heart Attack Signs and Symptoms:
- The symptoms are new (or if you have cardiac problems in your medical history, it may feel the same as the last time you had a heart attack)
- The discomfort wakes you up at night
- Pain, pressure or squeezing in your chest, particularly a little to the left side
- Pain or pressure in your upper body like your neck, jawline, back, stomach, or in one or both of your arms (especially radiating to your left arm)
- Difficulty breathing – feeling short of breath with or without chest discomfort
- Breaking out in a cold sweat – clammy
- Nausea or vomiting
- Lightheaded
- Throat or jaw pain
- Women sometimes present with heart attack symptoms differently than men in that they can have more pain in their back, neck or jaw – or all three combined. They can have heavier sweating, more severe stomach symptoms, or shortness of breath.
These symptoms can be brought on by exercise, manual labor, or stress, and will not resolve while at rest. Most heart attacks start out slowly and often time’s people are unsure of what is making them feel the way they are feeling, until it is too late.
In today’s advanced medical world, heart attack victims can benefit from new medications, operations and treatments that were not available to patients in the past. Clot-busting drugs, given at the hospital, can stop some heart attacks currently in progress, reducing disability and saving lives. However, in order for these treatments to be effective, these drugs must be given relatively quickly after heart attack symptoms first appear. The last bit of advice we have is to learn CPR! CPR truly saves lives. Heart attacks are life and death situations, every second counts.
Please visit the American Heart Association’s website for more information on heart attacks and stroke at: https://www.heart.org/
