How to Detect a Heart Attack

Heart attack, a medical condition that will change the pace of your life. Of all the people who experience a heart attack in a year, only 40% survive. This shows it is not a good idea to take heart health lightly. If you are over 35 to 40 years of age, it will be a good idea to undergo regular medical check ups and keep a tab on your health. Heart attack can strike suddenly with intense discomfort. A few people experience mild heart attacks with a bit of pain and discomfort. Whether you have suffered a mild heart attack or a serious one, you need to seek medical help immediately. The important part of seeking immediate medical help is recognizing heart attack symptoms. The key to save a life, maybe your own is knowing how to detect a heart attack. We will discuss the symptoms that will help you in recognizing a heart attack.

Recognizing Heart Attack Symptoms
How to detect a heart attack is an important question as getting help in the first hour is a priority. The first hour is called the 'golden hour'. If you seek medical attention in this 'golden hour' by recognizing the early signs of heart attack, your chances of recovery is greater. Many 'atypical heart attack symptoms are mistaken as an upset stomach. The person experiencing this begins to wonder if it is an indigestion or heart attack. This mistake decreases the chances of recovery from a heart attack. Spotting the symptoms as early as possible will help you save your life by seeking immediate heart attack treatment. Let's go into the details of how to detect a heart attack.

Detecting a Heart Attack Precursor Symptoms
Before you get a coronary attack, your heart will give you signals that something is just not right. This means when you carry out physical exertion, have a big heart meal, travel or live in cold weather, are emotionally charged up like very angry or are under a great deal of stress, you will feel your heart rhythm change. It will begin to beat faster and continue beating in the same rhythm for a really long time. This happens because your arteries are blocked and this obstructs the flow of flood through the heart. You cardiac muscle tissues do not receive the required nutrients at the right time and they suffer from lack of oxygen. This condition leads to angina pectoris or angina. The symptoms of angina act as a warning sign of an oncoming heart attack. These symptoms of angina that help in recognizing a heart attack are as follows:

• A heavy or squeezing sensation in the chest
• Shortness of breath after little physical activity
• One feels a constricting sensation in the throat
• A discomfort or pain in the jaw, teeth, ears, both arms, stomach and in some rare cases between the shoulder blades

When the blood clots or fatty deposits restricting the blood flow rupture leads to a heart attack.

Recognizing Heart Attack ~ Atypical Symptoms
I have already mentioned in the above paragraphs, that many people mistake some of the symptoms of heart attack as a simple digestive upset. However, it is important to understand the atypical symptoms for recognizing a heart attack. The atypical signs are also called silent heart attack symptoms. These atypical signs are very commonly observed as heart attack symptoms in women. These atypical heart attack symptoms include heartburn, nausea, sweating, sudden lightheadedness, etc. A few people may experience tingling in the left shoulder and arm, palpitations as well as bloated stomach. Women, especially experience pain between the shoulder blades and not the typical crushing pain in chest.

Recognizing Heart Attack ~ Typical Symptoms
Let us now have a look at how to detect a heart attack in detail. When one experiences heart attack, most of the symptoms are similar to an angina attack. Thus, it is important to seek medical attention as you do not know whether it is an angina attack or heart attack. The typical heart attack symptoms include:

• Squeezing or pressure in the middle of the chest
• Burning sensation in chest
• Chest pain that radiates towards the jaw, neck, shoulder, arms and down to the back
• Excessive, sudden sweating
• Weakness
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain that lasts more than 15 minutes
• Feeling sick or indigestion
• One feels faint
• Pain in the middle of the abdomen

These are some of the symptoms that help detecting a heart attack. Most of the time, people associate the symptoms with indigestion and acidity. However, it is better to confirm this false alarm in the medical room, than suffering from effects of a heart attack. If you feel you are experiencing heart attack signs and symptoms, call the emergency medical services immediately. If you are over 50 years of age, diabetic, suffering from high blood pressure, hypertension, have a history of heart disease, etc then do not take any symptoms lightly. This was all about how to detect a heart attack. Remember, medical attention during the 'golden hour' of having a heart attack, will help increases the chances of your quick recovery.