How You Should Start Recognizing Early Warning Signs of a Heart Attack?
How You Should Start Recognizing Early Warning Signs of a Heart Attack?
- What are the early warning signs of a heart attack?
- Common heart attack sign and symptoms
- Main heart attack signs in men
- Which heart attack signs in women are different?
- Is vomiting a sign of heart attack?
- Is this true - pain early warning signs of a heart attack?
- Are there any signs before heart attack?
- How will genetic testing help?
Introduction
A recent study by Lancet has revealed that heart diseases are now turning into a leading cause of fatalities in India. Important findings include heart attacks at an earlier age, and more fatalities. Various risk factors were evaluated, and threw up interesting findings on lipid metabolism, and genetic predisposition. The study recommended a multi-dimensional approach to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Lets look at the importance of recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack.
What are the early warning signs of a heart attack?
There are certain signs that can be considered as an indication or forewarning of a heart attack. However, it is very important to note that these signs are also common to other conditions or circumstances. This means that when you experience such signs, it does not automatically mean that you are having a heart attack. It should be viewed in the context of other symptoms and needs to be assessed medically.
It is best to be aware of symptoms and signs in such a manner to help you in recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack. This will help you from raising a false alarm or panicking that you are having a heart attack, even when the symptoms could mean something else. For instance, vomiting is a sign of heart attack in women; however, this does not mean that anyone who vomits is having a heart attack. There are other signs and conditions that need to be understood before assuming that a heart attack has occurred.
Here are some of the early warning signs that you need to be aware.
- Discomfort in the chest – You may experience some kind of pressure, or a squeezing sensation. A feeling of fullness or pain bang in the middle of the chest may also be an early sign. These symptoms are typically known to last for a few minutes, and in some cases may be intermittent.
- Upper torso discomfort – Another sign is some kind of pain or unexplained discomfort in either of the arms or both arms. This may sometimes extend or radiate to the back, the neck, your jaw, or your stomach.
- Difficulty breathing – One particular sign is shortness of breath that may be experienced either with chest discomfort or without any discomfort. Note the fact that this refers to situations even when there is no physical activity.
- Common symptoms – Some of the other common symptoms include a possible cold sweat, or feelings of nausea. You may sometimes feel lightheaded without any particular reason.
Apart from the above commonly experience symptoms, women are sometimes likely to experience certain symptoms that are not commonly experienced.
- Overall tiredness, without any reason.
- Feelings of anxiety.
- Sudden indigestion or heartburn.
- Dizzy feelings.
Common heart attack sign and symptoms
The above section was more about early warning signs that could indicate that you are in high risk of a heart attack in the near or not too distant future. However, there are some signs and indications of a heart attack, when it occurs. It is important to know all about recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack. Some of the symptoms may be common or overlap, and the intensity could be the major difference between the two.
- Pain in chest or unease – You may experience some kind of pressure, or squeezing sensation. This is similar to early warning signs, and includes a feeling of fullness. The pain may be experienced in the middle of the chest and could last for a few minutes. This may sometimes feel like it has resolved naturally and will return shortly. This alternating pain and pain-free phase could be a good indicator of an impending or heart attack in progress.
- Upper body unease – As mentioned in the previous section, you may experience unease in the upper part of your body.
- Difficulty breathing – A sign of heart attack is shortness of breath. This could be separate from discomfort or could be experienced along with discomfort.
- Sweating – There is a difference between a cold sweat and normal sweating. A cold sweat, as the name suggest is cold to the touch, while a normal sweat is warm and moist. You sweat normally after some kind of physical activity or if you have a fever, or if you are in some warm or hot place. A cold sweat, is the result of some kind of internal stress, fear, or pain or the result of a medical condition. This could be an infection, or it could also be a heart attack. A normal sweat usually occurs gradually, unless there is heavy physical exertion.
- Feelings of nausea – If you have vomiting sensations or if you are experiencing nausea, it could also be an indication of a heart attack. However, heart attack is not the only reason for vomiting, therefore it is wrong to assume that the only reason for vomiting is a heart attack.
- Other symptoms – There are other symptoms that will help you in recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack. These are a lightheaded feeling, or dizziness.
Main heart attack signs in men
As can be seen from the above sections, the symptoms of heart attack are mostly common to men and women with some differences. There are only a few symptoms and signs that are considered as exclusive or gender specific. Some of the signs of a heart attack in men include the following: An understanding of this will help you in recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack.
- Men experience pain the chest or discomfort differently – Among men, this is mostly felt as some kind of heavy pressure, or tight feeling. This could also be felt as a squeezing sensation in the chest. This symptom is considered as the very common and an easily identifiable symptom.
- Men feel the pain radiating across the upper body – Among men, the pain usually begins in the chest and slowly radiates. This could spread to the left arm, or the neck, jaw, or back.
- Breathing difficulty is sudden and is usually experienced along with pain in the chest. However, shortness of breath without pain is also a possible symptom. The common condition is the sudden onset of breathing difficulty.
- Cold sweats – This is usually experienced by men during a heart attack.
- Dizzy feeling – Men experience this in combination with other symptoms. For instance, dizzy feelings, when experienced along with chest pain or difficulty breathing, can be considered as a symptom of heart attack in men.
- Unease in the torso – Discomfort or unease could be in either of the arms or both the arms. This could stretch to the back, the neck, jaw, or even the stomach.
Which heart attack signs in women are different?
The symptoms experienced by women are only slightly different, with just a few exclusive gender-specific symptoms. The symptoms are more subtle, and this actually poses a health risk. The subtle nature of the symptoms make it harder identify and distinguish. It is therefore necessary to have a clearer understanding for recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack.
Overall tiredness that is abnormal – Women experience tiredness that is abnormal and this could be experienced for many days. A distinct nature of this symptom is that rest will not offer any relief.
Difficulty breathing – This is somewhat common to that of men; however, the difference is the subtle nature of this symptom.
Vomiting – This is more experienced in women than men. In most situations, there is every possibility of this being mistaken as due to other conditions.
Pain in the jaw or the back – This pain may radiate to the back or to the jaw. This is different from the pain typically experienced by men, where the pain extends to the chest or the arm.
The pain in the chest is different – Though chest pain is itself common to both genders, there is a difference in the nature of pain in women. It could be felt as some sharp pain, or a burning sensation, instead of the heavy pressure or heaviness felt by men.
Women may wake up from sleep with pain in the neck or the shoulder.
Indigestion – This symptom is likely to be confused as a gastrointestinal condition, but could also be due to a heart attack.
Women may experience many symptoms together, and due to the subtle nature, it could be misread. It is important to learn recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack and to seek emergency medical assistance.
Is vomiting a sign of heart attack?
Yes, vomiting could indicate that you are having a heart attack. However, heart attack is not the only reason for vomiting. This symptom is more commonly reported in women and could also be experienced other symptoms such as nausea, dizzy feelings and difficulty breathing. You may also experience some chest pain or unease with vomiting. Women are to look at these symptoms along with other symptoms to distinguish it as signs of a heart attack. In the event of other symptoms, it is necessary to seek medical assistance.
Is this true - pain early warning signs of a heart attack?
Yes, pain is known to be an early warning sign of a heart attack. As part of your understanding of recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack, you need to identify the distinct pain of a heart attack. It is almost always experienced as some kind of pressure being felt on the chest. Some may feel it as a squeezing sensation, while others experience it as a full feeling in the chest. The location of the pain is mostly in the middle of the chest. This pain could at times be experienced in the left arm, or also both arms.
Women may experience pain in the back, while there could be pain in the neck or the jaw also. Men may experience pain in the shoulders and the stomach also. The nature of the pain is slightly different from that of pain due to other reasons. It is not persistent, but intermittent, lasting for a few minutes. This pain goes away for a short while, only to return for a similar duration. These phases of pain can be a good way in recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack.
Are there any signs before heart attack?
There are signs before a heart attack, listed out earlier. Some signs not mentioned above include a sense of impending doom. When this is experienced with other symptoms, it means you definitely need to do something about it.
The faster you react to the symptoms, the better are your chances or the chances of the person who is experiencing the symptoms.
How will genetic testing help?
Genetic testing helps in many ways in preventing or mitigating the effects of a heart attack. There are many reasons that cause a heart attack, and one of the reasons is genetic predisposition through inheritance and genetic mutations. Genetic testing, presently available in Tamil Nadu, helps to uncover these reasons and help you understand your future or lifetime risk of a heart attack. Based on the assessment, you can then take suitable remedial measures.
Apart from an understanding of recognizing early warning signs of a heart attack, it would help be undergo genetic testing. In addition to the ability to uncover your risks, you can also receive better treatment, because genetic changes affect the way each person responds to medicines. For instance, some people respond better to medications, while some do not. This could be even when everything is similar – age, gender, overall health, underlying medical conditions etc. The difference is the genetic dissimilarities between people. Understanding this will help receive better treatment. Personalized medications and genetic testing go hand in hand for better medical outcomes.
Medically Reviewed by
Dr.Rajasekar Cardiologist
Dr. Rajasekar is a cardiologist in Chennai, with extensive experience in the field. He completed his MBBS from Madurai Kamaraj University, followed by an MD in General Medicine and a DM in Cardiology from The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University (TNMGRMU).
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Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D) from the University of Delhi Experience : Dr. Srinivasan is an experienced pharmacist with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Delhi and over 12 years in the field. She has worked extensively in clinical and community pharmacy settings, focusing on patient care, medication management, and drug safety. Dr. Srinivasan also contributes to health and wellness publications and serves as a consultant for pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations. Her expertise spans clinical practice, pharmaceutical writing, and regulatory affairs.