Heart Attack Signs and Symptoms You Shouldn't Ignore

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It's important for everyone to know the symptoms of a heart attack, not just those who are at risk.
“That’s partly because everyone is at risk,” says Sharonne Hayes, M.D., director of the Women’s Heart Clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “Also, if you know the symptoms, you will be more aware and able to recognize them in your parent, your aunt, your teacher, your brother, or your sister. You could save their life.”

Heart attack symptoms include:
•   Discomfort, heaviness, or pressure in the chest that can last from 30 minutes to two hours, or it can go away within minutes and return either in the chest or a different area of the upper body.
•   Discomfort in one arm (particularly the left) or both arms, between the shoulders, the upper back, in the neck, and/or near the jaw.
•   Shortness of breath or a feeling of not being able to get enough air.
•   Nausea, vomiting, indigestion, sweating, extreme fatigue, or a feeling of light-headedness.
•   Passing out or going into cardiac arrest.
•   An innate sense or feeling of impending doom.

These symptoms are even more of a concern if they grow worse with exertion or exercise.

When trying to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack, realize that yours may not be anything like the heart attacks of Hollywood—gasping for breath, clutching the chest in pain, and dramatically collapsing to the floor. “It’s obviously a dramatic interpretation,” says Clyde Yancy, M.D., medical director of the Baylor Heart Institute at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. “I have had patients come in with [these symptoms] … but it doesn’t happen that often.”

Instead, many heart attacks start slowly, with a feeling of discomfort or heaviness that gradually elevates to a mild pain. Some people experience a combination of symptoms, others don’t have any symptoms at all—a condition called silent heart attack, which is common in women, people with diabetes, and people over the age of 75.

If you or someone you know experience any of the symptoms listed above, call 911 immediately.