What are HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS?

Heart attack is a deadly disease that occurs when flow of blood to a section of heart muscle is blocked. If the block is not restored soon, then the muscles start dying due to lack of oxygen and this leads to the heart ceasing to function, a condition generally termed as heart attack. Fortunately there are a lot of treatments available for saving lives from heart attack if the attack is diagnosed very early and proper aid given immediately.

Here are heart attack symptoms that help people to detect attack.  Digestive heart attack symptoms or other less serious conditions sometimes have a lot of similarities to that of a real heart attack. So, one has to be careful before diagnosing and reporting a certain set of heart attack symptoms.

Angina Pectoris or Angina:  Angina is a predecessor to heart attack. In times of stress and physical and emotional challenges, and in cold weather or after a big meal, the heart starts work harder than normal to keep up with the need of the hour. But when channels supplying the oxygen to the heart get narrowed, oxygen supply gets deficient and leads to the pain called angina.

Typically the angina is a very intense period as it has the typical heart attack symptoms. But this can pass if proper rest is taken and the person suffering from angina relaxes. Many times the symptoms of heart attacks are more likely to angina but with a more horrible pain. The pain that the victims get is usually squeezing or burning or feels a terrible pressure in the middle of chest. This pain may also travel up to the neck, jaw, or shoulder or down the arm and into the back. Dizziness, sweating, weakness, nausea vomiting and shortness of breath also accompany the pain.

Heart attack: The early heart attack symptom is dizziness with a chest pain that is often vague, or dull.

Heart attack symptoms always start with a mild pain. Victims of heart attack mostly experience tightness or squeezing sensation in the chest. Emergency medical personnel are trained to identify if victims experience the following symptoms for two minutes or more minutes:
●    Pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the centre of the chest.
●    Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms.
●    Severe pain, sudden weakness, dizziness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
●    For those with angina, any change in the frequency, duration or intensity of the attacks, or symptoms that don't respond to nitro-glycerin.

Higher adrenaline amounts released from the adrenal glands contribute to the rupture of the plaque that causes the formation of the clot and the eventual heart attack. This happens during the morning hours. Hence heart attacks occur frequently from 400 A.M to 10 A.M. and this is also a symptom of heart attack. Unfortunately a quarter of all attacks occur silently. These silent heart attack symptoms are common to diabetic patients.

Silent heart attacks:  Heart attacks may occur without any warning to the victims. Such heart attacks with atypical symptoms are termed as silent heart attacks. Silent heart attacks mostly occur in elderly people typically above the age of 60 or more depending on their current health condition. The attack is also more common in people who also have diabetes.

Major heart attack symptoms in women:  Women often experience new or different physical symptoms of heart attack than men.

A women's major heart attack symptoms include:
●    Unusual fatigue - 70%
●    Sleep disturbance - 48%
●    Shortness of breath - 42%
●    Indigestion - 39%
●    Anxiety - 35%

The first hour since the heart attack occurs is termed to be the “golden hour”. If proper diagnosis is made within this time and the victim is brought to the attention of a medical professional then there is a very high chance of saving the person from a serious heart attack that maybe life threatening. Learning to identify the heart attack symptoms is a very crucial and useful piece of knowledge to have. Victims should never hesitate to consult a doctor if they are likely to obtain any of the above symptoms because the golden hour decides the victim’s life.