Heart Attack Symptoms

Prevention is better than cure is something that can apply to all major or minor ailments, including heart attacks. Blockage in the arteries (of the heart) can completely cut off or reduce the blood supply to a portion of the heart. This causes a blood clot to form and completely stops blood flow in a coronary artery resulting in a heart attack, also known as an acute myocardial infarction.

A blockage in the heart's arteries may reduce or completely cut off the blood supply to a portion of the heart. This can cause a blood clot to form and totally stop blood flow in a coronary artery, resulting in a heart attack (also called an acute myocardial infarction or MI). Most heart attack symptoms occur slowly and with mild pain and as a result, people tend to ignore it as a minor discomfort.

If you experience one or more of the symptoms, it is highly recommended that you consult a doctor immediately. You can expect the doctor to examine your:

• Complete medical history
• Physical examination
• an electrocardiogram (e-lek"tro-KAR'de-o-gram) (ECG or EKG) to discover any abnormalities caused by damage to the heart. An ECG is a medical device that makes a graphical record of the heart's electrical activity.
• Blood tests to detect abnormal levels of certain enzymes in the bloodstream.

Blood tests help to refute or confirm suspicions raised in the early stages of evaluation that may occur in an emergency room, intensive care unit or urgent care setting. These tests are sometimes called heart damage markers or cardiac enzymes.

Heart Attack Symptoms
Heart attack symptoms differ from one person to another. It is also observed that the symptoms in women are much different from men. Some of the common symptoms are:

• Chest discomfort: You may feel discomfort or pain like a tight ache, pressure, fullness or squeezing in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes. The discomfort may come and go on intervals.
• Upper Body Pain: You may experience pain or uneasiness spread beyond your chest to your shoulders, arms, back, neck, teeth or jaw. Alternately, you could have upper body pain sans chest discomfort.
• Stomach Pain: The pain may extend downward into your abdominal area and may feel like heartburn.
• Anxiety: You may feel a sense of doom or have a low moment as if you are having a panic attack for no apparent reason.
• Sweating: You may suddenly break into a sweat with cold, clammy skin.
• Nausea and Vomiting: You may feel sick to your stomach or feel like vomiting.

However, women have different symptoms as opposed to men. In addition to pain or discomfort, they also experience the following symptoms:

• Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea or vomiting
• Abdominal pain or "heartburn"
• Sweating
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Unusual or unexplained fatigue

The wrong timing can prove to be fatal, avoid them!
Most of the times it is observed that when someone suffers a heart attack; s/he is alone and without any help. When the heart is beating improperly, they begin to feel faint and have only about 10 seconds before losing consciousness.

However, at such times the victim can help themselves by coughing very vigorously and repeatedly. You should take a deep breath before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest. Thus, a breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up till help arrives or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing moments squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulation going. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital and can protect themselves for a few crucial minutes before they can get help.

Healthy Steps towards a Healthy Life
Make some lifestyle changes and switch to a healthy diet and indulge in some kind of sport or exercise at least 4 times in a week for about half an hour everyday. Lead an active and stress free life to maintain a healthy heart. Ensure that you maintain a healthy weight and keep a check on your fat intake.