A myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood flow to the heart is interrupted. Restricted or blocked blood flow causes the oxygen-deprived heart muscle to die. Since your heart helps your body supply oxygen-rich blood to all the systems in your body, damage to the muscle has devastating consequences. One in five heart attacks are silent, but most myocardial infarctions present symptoms. Getting patients to the hospital within an hour of symptom-onset increases the chance that they will survive. Recognizing the signs saves lives.
1. Chest Pain
About two-thirds of patients report experiencing chest pain when they are having a heart attack. Men are more likely to experience this sign than women.
The pain may increase in intensity as the muscle dies, and it may disappear entirely after the muscle is completely dead. It’s critical to respond to this sign early so that doctors can save as much of the heart as possible. Although the pain originates from the center or left-hand side of the chest, it can be diffused throughout the entire chest and torso. Many patients describe feeling a tightness or squeezing in their chest.
Chest pain alone isn’t usually enough to send people rushing to the hospital. A variety of conditions can cause similar discomfort, and if a person normally deals with chest pain, he or she may assume that this is normal. It’s up to the individual to notice if there’s anything unique about their pain. Usually, this symptom accompanies other symptoms that are red flags for heart attacks.
2. Fullness Sensation of the Chest
Sometimes patients experience a fullness sensation of the chest instead of outright pain. One study found that women are more likely to describe the feelings that they were experiencing as fullness or achiness instead of pain. Fullness sensation of the chest doesn’t sound like the stereotypical image you see of the heart attack patient clutching his or her chest, but it doesn’t make this symptom any less serious. The pain doesn’t have to be the rapid-onset crippling agony you might be used to seeing in the movies to indicate that you need to seek medical attention.
3. Jaw Pain
Jaw pain isn’t an obvious sign of a heart attack for most people. What does your jaw have to do with your heart? The nerves in your heart are connected to those in your neck and jaw. The proximity of the nerves associated with your chest and jaw means that sometimes your body misinterprets pain signals. Pain in your jaw that is related to an issue in your chest is an example of referred pain.
You may experience jaw pain without feeling any chest pain since your jaw is more sensitive. Although men might feel jaw pain during a myocardial infarction, this symptom is more commonly reported among women.
4. Headache
During a myocardial infarction, the regular circulatory patterns in your body are disrupted, which can cause a headache. Oxygen-rich blood is unable to make it to areas of the body that need it. Nasty headaches that don’t seem to get better with over-the-counter medicine are common signs of heart trouble.
One study suggests that women who suffer from migraines with an aura have double the risk of heart attack compared to those who don’t have this symptom. The same restricted blood flow that causes the headache can also manifest as extreme light-headedness.
5. Shortness of Breath
Your lungs are responsible for supplying the oxygen that your blood carries throughout your body. When a clot or plaque buildup compromises blood flow, your brain may misinterpret the lack of oxygen as an issue with your breathing.
Shortness of breath is an indication that your body is oxygen-starved. Many people who experience shortness of breath also feel fatigued after completing minimal physical activity. This feeling may set in weeks before a heart attack occurs.
If you experience shortness of breath without exerting yourself, or if the feeling worsens when you lie down, it may be an early warning sign of a heart attack.
6. Nausea
Nausea and vomiting are considered typical symptoms of a heart attack. Although these feelings are quite common, people don’t readily associate nausea with myocardial infarctions. Pain that starts in the chest can radiate down into the stomach, giving the patient the feeling of an upset stomach.
Nausea is common when the lower quadrants of the heart are damaged. Many people report feeling flu-like symptoms in the days leading up to the cardiac event.
Nausea may also be a symptom of the symptoms. For example, a headache or light-headedness can also make you feel nauseous.
7. Heartburn
Heartburn is such a common occurrence for some that it’s easily ignored. It normally occurs when stomach acid comes up the esophagus. The proximity of your heart and esophagus can make it feel like you are experiencing heartburn when the pain is coming directly from your heart.
Heartburn related to a heart attack may come in waves, and it may only last for a few minutes at a time. When it’s related to indigestion, it may take several hours to resolve.
8. Upper Back Pain
You might not think of upper back pain as having any relationship with a heart attack, but this is a common symptom of a serious problem. Sometimes upper back pain occurs for the same reason that neck and jaw pain occurs: the nerves in the chest and upper back are near one another.
General discomfort or pressure in the chest and torso can also radiate outward to cause upper back pain. Sometimes this pain stretches along the upper arms and neck. Be on the lookout for pain that doesn’t seem related to a specific muscle, and discomfort for which you can’t identify the origin.
This sign is easy to miss, but if you’re feeling out of the ordinary, have one or more risk factors associated with heart disease, or have other symptoms along with your upper back pain, it’s worthwhile to get checked out.
9. Sweating
Sweating is commonly dismissed because patients may associate it with other conditions. Many women going through menopause may associate this sign with hormonally-triggered night sweats or hot flashes. When sweating is accompanied by shortness of breath, or it is a “cold sweat” that seems to arise from nowhere, it’s a strong indicator that the patient is experiencing a cardiac event.
While you expect to sweat when you’re exerting yourself, sweating related to heart attacks often seems to have no apparent cause. A cold sweat with no associated fever, or sweating that corresponds with any of the other symptoms on this list are your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong.
