Symptoms and Signs:
Heart attacks are virtually always accompanied by preceding symptoms. However, many people do not suspect that the warning signs of a heart attack are serious, especially if it is their first bout of heart trouble. Many others, too proud to burden family members or friends to seek emergency help, deny what is happening.
Common symptoms include uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing, or pain in the centre of your chest that lasts for more than a few minutes. This pain may fade and then return. A common misconception is that heart attack symptoms are acute and easy to distinguish. Although many people experience such sensations, in many other cases, it takes several hours before a realization sets in that something is wrong. In fact, some people may not feel anything at all, living normally for years without being aware of the damage to their hearts. This event is generally referred to as a "silent" heart attack (although the damage to heart muscle in such cases is usually relatively minor). Pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck, and left arm are also indications of a heart attack. Dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea, shortness of breath, or anxiety often accompany the pain.
A heart attack is often confused with a panic, or anxiety, attack. Despite the difference of severity between the two events, heart attacks and anxiety attacks share some of the same characteristics. As a result, many people having a heart attack fail to react in time, thinking that their physical symptoms are anxiety driven. The two main differences are outlined below
- Anxiety attacks often have symptoms that are difficult to pinpoint -- pain or discomfort is felt but is generally not concentrated in a specific area. Heart attacks, on the other hand, usually produce a distinct pressure or pain (although not always) in your chest or left arm.
- Discomfort associated with anxiety attacks, no matter how frightening, usually does not last long. A distinguishing characteristic of a heart attack however, is that the pain lasts for a substantial amount of time.
