Introduction
Heart attacks are one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and it’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack. While chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack, there are other signs that can indicate a heart attack is occurring. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the sure signs that you’re having a heart attack, according to patients who have experienced them. We’ll also discuss the importance of seeking medical attention immediately if you experience any of these symptoms. By understanding the signs of a heart attack, you can take the necessary steps to protect your health and potentially save your life.
Sure Signs You’re Having a Heart Attack, According to Patients
Heart attacks can be a frightening experience, and it’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms so you can get help quickly. Here are some of the most common signs and symptoms reported by patients who have experienced a heart attack.
Chest Pain
The most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain or discomfort. This pain may feel like a tightness, pressure, or squeezing sensation in the chest. It may also spread to the arms, neck, jaw, or back.
Shortness of Breath
Shortness of breath is another common symptom of a heart attack. This can range from feeling like you can’t catch your breath to feeling like you’re suffocating. It may be accompanied by chest pain or discomfort.
Nausea and Vomiting
Nausea and vomiting are also common symptoms of a heart attack. This can range from feeling slightly queasy to feeling like you’re going to be sick. It may be accompanied by chest pain or discomfort.
Sweating
Sweating is another common symptom of a heart attack. This can range from feeling slightly clammy to feeling like you’re drenched in sweat. It may be accompanied by chest pain or discomfort.
Lightheadedness
Lightheadedness is another common symptom of a heart attack. This can range from feeling slightly dizzy to feeling like you’re going to faint. It may be accompanied by chest pain or discomfort.
Fatigue
Fatigue is another common symptom of a heart attack. This can range from feeling slightly tired to feeling completely exhausted. It may be accompanied by chest pain or discomfort.
Conclusion
If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention immediately. A heart attack can be a life-threatening event, and the sooner you get help, the better your chances of recovery.
Based on the American Coronary heart Affiliation, each 40 seconds somebody in america suffers a coronary heart assault. A coronary heart assault happens when the blood circulation that carries oxygen to the guts muscle is severely decreased or reduce off utterly, and your physique will typically react in quite a lot of methods. Nevertheless, opposite to what you’ve gotten seen within the films, a coronary heart assault is not at all times apparent, which is why figuring out what signs to look out for can save your life. Listed here are 5 private tales of coronary heart assault survivors revealing the varied signs they skilled earlier than and through their coronary heart assaults. Learn on—and to make sure your well being and the well being of others, do not miss these Certain Indicators You’ve got Already Had Coronavirus.
Based on the American Coronary heart Affiliation, most coronary heart assaults contain “discomfort within the heart of the chest that lasts quite a lot of minutes – or it might go away after which return,” they clarify. “It may really feel like uncomfortable stress, squeezing, fullness or ache.” Whereas many individuals assume the sort of ache is intense, sudden, and one thing you see depicted within the films as somebody grabbing their chest in desperation, the symptom can really be rather more delicate. Angelo Keyes, a retired semipro soccer participant and bodybuilder, was simply 54 when he skilled a coronary heart assault whereas lifting weights on the gymnasium. Since he was engaged on strengthening his shoulders and chest, when he felt ache within the space, he first ignored it. “You get so used to these aches and pains and nicks and dings. I assumed I had pulled a muscle in my chest and shoulder,” he instructed AARP. Nevertheless, the ache persevered, and he stated to his spouse, “If I did not know any higher, I might assume I used to be having a coronary heart assault.’” She instructed him to go to the hospital, however as a substitute he ran an errand first. “That took about 5 minutes, and by the point I used to be finished I may barely get up. I noticed I actually was having a coronary heart assault.”
In 2012, Rosie O’Donnell suffered a coronary heart assault, and like many ladies, ignored her signs. On her Rosie Weblog she detailed what occurred after she helped an “huge” lady out of a automotive. “Just a few hours later my physique harm, I had an ache in my chest each my arms have been sore, every little thing felt bruised,” she revealed. Based on the American Coronary heart Affiliation, many “ladies are considerably extra doubtless than males to expertise among the different frequent signs,” together with arm or shoulder ache. “Though women and men can expertise chest stress that looks like an elephant sitting throughout the chest, ladies can expertise a coronary heart assault with out chest stress, ” Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director for the Joan H. Tisch Middle for Girls’s Well being at NYU’s Langone Medical Middle and an American Coronary heart Affiliation volunteer, explains. “I’m fortunate to be right here,” O’Donnell continued. “Know the signs girls, hearken to the voice inside. The one all of us so simply ignore. CALL 911.”
One non-specific signal of a coronary heart assault is lightheadedness or dizziness—one thing many individuals write off as one thing not fairly as critical. In February 2017, Bob Harper of The Largest Loser suffered a “widowmaker” coronary heart assault at age 51, later revealing that he selected to not hearken to the principle warning signal his physique gave him as much as six weeks earlier than his main well being complication “I fainted one time within the gymnasium,” Harper revealed throughout an look on the late-night present Watch What Occurs With Andy Cohen. “I began having these dizzy spells, and I simply type of missed them.”
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Discomfort in different areas of the higher physique—together with the jaw, neck, and again—are different frequent signs of a coronary heart assault, in keeping with the American Coronary heart Affiliation. On Might 30, 2012, Sheila Caldwell, who was 50 on the time, had a coronary heart assault. Later, she defined to Piedmont Medical Middle that she had been experiencing warning indicators for awhile. “Within the months main as much as the guts assault, I had numerous warning indicators, certainly one of them being power fatigue,” she says. “The fatigue was so debilitating I had even stopped working part-time as a result of I discovered it so tough to operate and do day-to-day actions.” One other symptom? Radiating ache alongside her jaw, brushing it off as stress. Then, she skilled a “great quantity of ache between her shoulder blades,” however wrote that off to her myalgia and arthritis. Nevertheless, the morning of her coronary heart assault, she skilled chilly sweats, dizziness, nausea, chest stress, ache within the shoulders down each arms, and shortness of breath. “There have been warning indicators alongside the way in which, however like lots of ladies yow will discover one thing else in charge it on,” she says. “I believe lots of instances we blame them on different issues or push them within the background as a result of we’re busy and we do not need to admit that it may be us.”
The American Coronary heart Affiliation additionally lists nausea and vomiting as two doable indicators of a coronary heart assault. In 2018, when director Kevin Smith suffered his near-fatal widowmaker, the primary two signs he skilled have been nausea and extreme sweating. “I could not get comfy — which is bizarre as a result of I can get comfy wherever … Then I began feeling stress on my chest. Not like there was an elephant on my chest. I simply could not catch my breath. Actually, I used to be by no means actually in ache,” he admitted throughout a Fb Stay video. As for your self, keep wholesome throughout this pandemic, since COVID can result in coronary heart bother—put on a face masks, social distance, keep away from giant crowds, do not go indoors with individuals you are not sheltering with (particularly in bars), follow good hand hygiene, get vaccinated when it turns into obtainable to you, and to guard your life and the lives of others, do not go to any of those 35 Locations You are Most More likely to Catch COVID.