heartdiseasesecretreport.comHeart Attack Symtoms

Would you know if you, or a loved one, were having a heart attack?

Could you identify the signs and symptoms that indicate the discomfort you’re experiencing is not indigestion, but a life threatening heart attack?

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. today. According to the American College of Cardiology, the death rate for women is at it’s highest point in twenty years.

We need to learn to identify the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, so that in the event of an emergency we can respond promptly and take immediate life saving action. Although the warning signs of a heart attack may differ from person to person, there are several common symptoms we can readily recognize.These include the following:

1. Chest discomfort. This may feel like a squeezing,

crushing pain, or uncomfortable pressure in the center of the chest. The pain may be mild or strong. It may continue for a few minutes or go away and return.

2. Upper body pain. One may experience discomfort in one or both arms, the neck, back, jaw, or stomach.

3. Shortness of breath. This may occur either together with the chest pain or before it occurs.

4. Other signs, more frequent amongst women,may include fatigue, nausea (feeling sick to the stomach,anxiety, sweating,or fainting.

In the event of an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately. Do not attempt to drive yourself or take the victim to the hospital in your own car. Ambulances are equipped with life saving equipment and trained staff. Every minute counts. A delay of more than an hour may cause lasting heart damage or death.

Many people naively dismiss the warning signs,

thinking they are not the “real thing.” By ignoring these symptoms they carelessly put their lives at risk. Do not think you are bothering the medical staff needlessly. The life you save may be your own.

Many people confuse the symptoms of heartburn for a heart attack. Heartburn frequently occurs to people over forty years old after eating a heavy meal.

The symptoms of heartburn may include a burning sensation in the chest, just behind the breastbone. This chest pain usually occurs soon after eating and may last from a few minutes to several hours.

Other signs of heartburn may include chest pain after lying down, eating, or bending over. A burning sensation or feeling a hot, sour, salty, or acidic fluid in the throat. Difficulty in swallowing.

A feeling that small amounts of food or liquid are coming back up the throat. In addition, chronic heartburn may cause hoarseness, sore throat, or cough. Unlike a heart attack, during heartburn, chest pain does not usually spread to shoulders, neck, or arms, but it can.

Heartburn usually responds quickly to antacids or other heartburn treatments. It is best avoided by eating lighter meals. The best way to avoid a heart attack is by modifying the risk factors we face daily.These include smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, and cholesterol.

When is the best time to start a heart attack prevention program? The sooner the better. Or as Dr. Cary Passik, cardiothoracic surgeon advises, “live your life everyday as if you have coronary heart disease.” Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Like any other health problem, heart attack is related to certain factors. These factors are called risk factors. There are many types of risk factors. Among those that you can not change we might mention age, a genetic history of early heart disease or a personal history of CAD.

These unchangeable factors are independent and as we observed they are related to different conditions. These factors may be explained too. For example, the first mentioned factor, age, differs from women to men. This risk factor may occur in men over the age of 45 and in women after the age of 55.

A family history of early heart disease is also divided for men and women. An early heart disease is considered for men younger than 55 and for women younger than 65.

A personal history of CAD means an angina, a previous heart attack or a surgical procedure to increase the blood flow to the heart.

These were the unchangeable risk factors. Among the other type of risk factors, that a patient can change, we have to remember smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity or diabetes.

Along with the risk factors we also have to mention the warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack.

Chest discomfort is one of the most common warning signs. In most of the cases discomfort occurs for a few minutes but keeps on coming back. Patients feel an uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. In some cases the heart attack pain may feel like indigestion or heartburn.

Discomfort may occur in other areas of the body, not only in the chest. The pain may occur in the arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

Shortness of breath is also a common warning sign. It may occur with the chest discomfort but sometimes can even occur before it.

Along with these common symptoms, a patient may develop symptoms that include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or dizziness too.

The sings and the symptoms are different from one person to another. It was noticed that for a second heart attack the symptoms are different from the first one. There are cases when people do not experience symptoms. Their problem is called silent heart attack.

A very important advice is to go to a hospital when you experience these symptoms.

The ways of diagnosing heart attack are the electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), blood tests, nuclear heart scan, cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography.

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When patients are sent home undiagnosed after a heart attack, they do not receive the treatment they need to avoid permanent injury, and are at risk for another heart attack, and may die. Heart attacks are a very common medical emergency, but are often overlooked or misdiagnosed in emergency rooms and during regular doctor visits. When a heart attack is quickly detected and treated, further damage can be avoided. Most patients not only survive, but recover well and can live a normal life. When an impending heart attack is caught before it occurs, it can often be prevented, which is even better.

Predicting heart attacks

Doctors and emergency room staff can often anticipate an imminent heart attack by:

· Carefully reviewing patient history

· Conducting a thorough physical exam

· Electrocardiogram testing (ECG or EKG)

· Blood tests

Detecting heart attacks

When a heart attack is not anticipated and prevented, it can still be treated successfully if quickly recognized. Prompt treatment can save a heart attack patient’s life and/or prevent permanent injury. In order to properly diagnose a heart attack, health care professionals must recognize and respond to the symptoms. These symptoms include:

· Chest pain

· Pain radiating through the shoulder, arm, or jaw

· Indigestion symptoms

· Nausea

· Dizziness

· Shortness of breath

· Weakness

If a patient displays these or other heart attack symptoms an ECG or EKG and blood tests should be performed immediately. Elevated levels of the enzyme tropan, in the blood, can indicate a heart attack. Another enzyme, called Creatine phosphokinase (CPK), can indicate tissue or muscle death. If these tests indicate the likelihood of a heart attack, more extensive tests should follow.

Common misdiagnosis

Because heart attack symptoms are similar to symptoms of other medical problems heart attacks are often misdiagnosed as:

· Heartburn

· Acid reflux

· Anxiety attack

· Musculoskeletal pain

· Bronchitis

· Pneumonia

· Esophagitis

· Angina

· Gallstones

Common mistakes that led to undiagnosed heart attacks

Besides simply mistaking heart attack symptoms for those of other health problems, doctors and emergency room staff sometimes don’t consider the possibility of a heart attack in people who seem unlikely victims. Women are at a much greater risk than is commonly believed, and young people can suffer heart attacks. Certain medications and other underlying health problems can cause heart attacks in people who don’t obviously fit the profile for a heart attack candidate. Common factors leading to heart attack misdiagnosis include:

· Failure to consider heart attacks in women

· Failure to consider heart attacks in younger people

· Failure to review a patients medical history, including suspect medications

· Failure to recognize symptoms

· Failure to administer the necessary tests

· Misreading EKG results

· Over reliance on EKG results

A heart attack (myocardial infarction), is a common but often deadly event. Over one million Americans suffer from heart attacks each year and approximately one in three of these people will die.

During a heart attack, an artery providing the heart with oxygen-rich blood is blocked by blood platelets. The heart thus becomes oxygen deprived and heart muscle cells begin to die. Permanent damage can be caused in a very short time.

Signs & Symptoms

Heart attacks can occur quickly but there may be warning signs and symptoms. These can include:

• Pressure, squeezing, or pain in the chest

• Shortness of breath

• Sweating, nausea, or shortness of breath

• Back, stomach, neck, or jaw pain or discomfort

• Irregular or rapid heart beats

These symptoms may develop over minutes, hours, or days before the heart attack occurs. It is also possible to have a ‘silent’ heart attack, occurring without symptoms, although these are most common in diabetics.

Treatments

Because permanent heart damage, or even death, can occur very quickly after the onset of the heart attack, symptoms should be treated as a medical emergency and treatment sought immediately. There are a number of medications that should be administered by medical health professionals immediately upon even the suspicion of a heart attack. These include:

• Oxygen

• Aspirin

• Beta blockers

• Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors

• Thrombolytic medicines

There are also certain diagnostic tests that should be performed to verify whether a heart attack has occurred and if so, how much damage the heart has sustained.

• Electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG)

• Chest X-Rays

• Blood Tests

Misdiagnosis

Once a doctor or first responder is notified, the key to surviving and recovering from a heart attack is proper diagnosis. Diagnosis is first made based on symptoms, many of which mimic the symptoms of a number of other conditions.

• Angina: Characterized by pain in the chest lasting for a few minutes, angina is a side-effect of coronary artery disease. While abnormal angina can signal the onset of a heart attack, the pain usually passes.

• Heartburn & Indigestion: Pain associated with these common conditions can be mistaken for heart attack pain.

If an improper diagnosis is made based on symptoms, the appropriate medications will not be administered and tests will not be performed. The heart can sustain serious and irreparable damage. People who suffered from, and survived, an undiagnosed heart attack have an increased risk of a second heart attack.

Many heart attacks that go unaddressed or undiagnosed are deadly. The National Institutes of Health estimates that approximately half of the people suffering from heart attacks die will die within an hour of experiencing the first symptoms.

Legal Options

When a heart attack is misdiagnosed and further tests and treatments are not undertaken to rule out the possibility of a heart attack, there may be an issue of medical negligence. Victims may be entitled to compensation for medical bills and pain and suffering incurred as a result of the misdiagnosis. When misdiagnosis of a heart attack results in death, a wrongful death lawsuit may be appropriate.

Diagnosing medical conditions is complicated, and proving a misdiagnosis can be equally so. According to Salt Lake City medical malpractice attorney Ryan Springer of G. Eric Nielson & Associates, the medical field has its own language, which can be impossible to understand for those outside the field. The complexity of the language and issues makes medical malpractice law an area where it is essential to have legal representation skilled in medical malpractice issues.

Heart attacks are a major cause of death and disability. Most people assume that the onset of a heart attack is accompanied by a series of symptoms such as chest pain and pain in the right arm or passing out. For the victim of the silent heart attack this is not always the case. The silent heart attack can come on with very minor symptoms and be just as deadly as any other heart attack. A heat attack occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle itself is blocked and causes part of the heart to die. This in turn causes the heart to malfunction.

Recovering from a heart attack is contingent on the swiftness of the reaction to its symptoms. Delay can be deadly in the event of a heart attack. By virtue of the fact that a silent heart attack comes on without the extreme symptoms a person generally expects in the event of a heart attack, immediate treatment is quite often delayed until it is too late. Symptoms of the silent heart attack can be as follows. Pain in your arms,chest and jaw that seem to get better if you rest. Being short of breath and getting tired easily. Chest pain is a major red flag for an oncoming heart attack it is not always present during a silent heart attack.

Fast treatment is the key to surviving a heart attack. Due to the fact that the symptoms of the silent heart attack can feel relief with a little rest, they sometimes can delay treatment which in turn can be devastating. Jaw pain in a heart attack can sometimes mistaken for a tooth ache and the arm pain can be misconstrued for a pulled muscle. The chest pain can be attributed to an ulcer, heart burn or severe gas pain. This has caused people to sit at home and misdiagnose themselves and die from an otherwise treatable heart attack. Determining if you are at risk for a silent heart attack is a preemptive step you can take.

Those mostly at risk for a silent heart attack are people who have had a previous heart attack. Also at risk are diabetics and those over the age of sixty-five and people prone to strokes. Some medications can carry with them a risk of making a person more at risk for a silent heart attack. Always ask your doctor to explain in detail all side effects of any medication you are prescribed. Smoking and alcohol consumption can also increase the risk of heart attack as can being over weight. It is important to bear in mind that everyone can take steps to minimize their risk of having a silent heart attack. Exercising more and talking to your doctor can only help to reduce your chances.

If you have taken stock of your risk factors and have determined that you are at risk for a silent heart attack then a plan of action should be in place in the event you ever do find yourself having a silent heart attack. Never let doubt come into play in such a serious situation. This is a common problem. People have actually delayed seeking treatment for a heart attack because they were worried about the resulting medical bills. What good is money if your dead? People have gone to chiropractors and dentists to find relief from the symptoms of a silent heart attack. Make your plans before the symptoms occur when you can think clearly and with a cool head.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Heart attacks kill about 460,000 Americans every year. People usually die within one hour of when symptoms start, but before they get to the hospital. If more people recognized the signs of heart attacks and acted sooner, more people would survive them.

One reason that people do not always recognize the warning signs of heart attacks is that they act differently. Even people who have had a heart attack before might not recognize another one because it could be completely different. The main thing to remember is that if you are not sure, have it checked out. It is better to have a false alarm than to not respond to the real thing. Quick response greatly increases your chances for surviving heart attacks.

Most heart attacks start out with some sort of discomfort to the chest.

It may not be the searing pain that you might expect from a heart attack, but there will probably be something. Some people have described before a squeezing sensation, or simply a pain or fullness. The pain may last for a few minutes, or it may come and go away and come back again.

Many people also experience some sort of pain in the upper area of the body during heart attacks. It may show up in the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. If you have pain or even a mild discomfort in any of these areas you should have it checked out, especially if there is a history of heart disease in your family or if you have been diagnosed with heart problems. Many people try to wait this type of pain out, but it only gets worse. If you wait, you may be too late. Heart attacks are not something to wait around on. Make sure that you get help immediately.

There are many other symptoms of heart attacks that you can identify. Some people experience a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness. Most people also experience shortness of breath. There are many different symptoms that you can identify as warning signals of heart attacks. The most important thing is that you react quickly to these symptoms. Even if you do not like doctors or hospitals, a short stay in one is better than leaving immediately.

On top of learning warning signs of heart attacks, you can take preventative measures to keep yourself safe. Exercise properly, eat right, and see your doctor for regular checkups. Remember that heart disease does not mean your life will be cut short, undiagnosed and untreated heart disease will put you on the fast track for heart attacks.

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I am 45 and a woman. I have been having pain in my shoulders and mid back, trouble breathing, and dizziness. I have been using my inhaler every 2 hours and have been taking 800mgs of motrin for the pain and a gas X and previcid for my stomach. The breathing problems seems better but I am still in some pain. My husband, a nurse, says I am not presenting the symptoms of a heart attack and thinks it is more upper respiratory related. I have also had sore shoulders for a while with limited movement that my doctor thinks is my rotator cuff. Do you think I should ride it out on pain meds and albutoral or go to the emergency room? I’m not in distress as much as I was. Any suggestions? Thanks!

sometimes i experienced tightening in my chest and hard to breath..no jaw and arm numbness experienced.
sometimes i woke up middle of the night and catching my breath..can this be heart attack or asthma symptoms?
please help..
thanks

Why does someone have a heart attack?What are thne symptoms
of a heart attack?