Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Does a Heart Attack Feel Like?Symptoms in WomenSymptoms in MenDoes the Body Show Signs Before a Heart Attack?What to Do if You Think You’re Having a Heart AttackWhat Causes a Heart Attack?Testing to Diagnose a Heart AttackHeart Attack TreatmentRecovery From a Heart AttackHow to Prevent a Heart AttackLife After a Heart Attack: OutlookNext in Heart Attack GuideSigns and Symptoms of a Heart Attack
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Does a Heart Attack Feel Like?
Symptoms in Women
Symptoms in Men
Does the Body Show Signs Before a Heart Attack?
What to Do if You Think You’re Having a Heart Attack
What Causes a Heart Attack?
Testing to Diagnose a Heart Attack
Heart Attack Treatment
Recovery From a Heart Attack
How to Prevent a Heart Attack
Life After a Heart Attack: Outlook
Next in Heart Attack Guide
Aheart attack—also known as a myocardial infarction (MI)—is when the heart muscle does not receive enough blood flow and the heart cells begin to die. This can result from a severely decreased blood flow to the coronary arteries or because there is a complete blockage in the arteries. When the heart muscle begins to die, the person has a heart attack.
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This article discusses heart attack symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery.
Myocardial Infarction (Heart Attack)
Heart Attack Symptoms: What Does a Heart Attack Feel Like?
Heart attack symptomsvary from person to person. They can include classic symptoms like severe chest pain, or more subtle symptoms, or no symptoms at all. Heart attack symptoms can come on suddenly or develop slowly and come and go over many hours.
The symptoms of aheart attackinclude:
Cardiac Arrest vs. Heart Attack: Main Differences
Heart Attack Symptoms in Women
Heart disease is the No.1 cause of death in women in the U.S.Awoman’s heart attack symptomscan include classic symptoms like chest pain. A study from theJournal of American Heart Associationin 2019 found that chest pain was the presenting heart attack symptom in 92% of women.
However, women can also have other symptoms that aren’t seen as oftenin men.
The other symptoms that women may have during a heart attack include:
Heart Attack Symptoms in Men
Just like women, heart disease is the No.1 cause of death in men.Heart attack symptoms in men typically present withchest pain, also known asangina. A 2019 study showed that 91% of men had chest pain on presentation in the emergency department.Other heart attack symptoms in men include:
Theearly warning signsof a heart attack can include:
If you or someone you are with thinks they are having a heart attack, the first step is to call 911. Do not delay. Aheart attackis a medical emergency. Do not try and drive yourself or someone else to the hospital. An ambulance is designed to transport people who may be having aheart attackand can get them prepared for the hospital while they are en route.
Take any medication you have been prescribed for chest pain. If the chest pain does not go away after you take the medicine, call 911.
Heart attacks most commonly result fromcoronary artery disease (CAD). This is a condition in which plaque develops along the insides of coronary arteries. Over time, the plaque narrows the arteries decreasing blood flow through them. When the blood flow decreases enough, the heart muscle does not get enough oxygen and nutrients, causing chest pain.
A piece of plaque can break off the sides of the artery. A blood clot can form on the plaque, stopping blood flow through the artery and causing chest pain and a heart attack.
Other less commoncauses of a heart attackare:
There are several heart attack risk factors. Some of these are within your control, while others are not. The risk factors you can control are:
Risk factors outside a person’s control are age, family history, and infections.
Heart Attack vs. Cardiac ArrestThe termsheart attack and cardiac arrestare sometimes interchangeable. However, they are two very different conditions. Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops beating. A heart attack decreases blood flow, causing the heart to beat less effectively. A heart attack can cause cardiac arrest.
Heart Attack vs. Cardiac Arrest
The termsheart attack and cardiac arrestare sometimes interchangeable. However, they are two very different conditions. Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops beating. A heart attack decreases blood flow, causing the heart to beat less effectively. A heart attack can cause cardiac arrest.
What Happens to Blood Pressure During a Heart Attack?
When someone comes into an emergency department with heart attack symptoms, the healthcare providers will immediately provide care and testing. There are three primary tests fordiagnosing a heart attack:
Every moment matters when someone is having a heart attack. Treatment should start as soon as possible.
Medications
Severalmedicationscan treat a heart attack. One of the most common is aspirin.Aspirinwill not break up any existing blood clots, but it will help prevent the formation of new or larger clots.
Nitroglycerin is another medication that makes it easier for your heart to get blood through your body.
Thrombolytics are medications for breaking up blood clots. This medication enters the body through an IV when a blood clot causes a heart attack.Thrombolytics also pose a risk of bleeding. The medicine will work throughout the entire body and does not know to focus only on the heart.
Non-Surgical Intervention
Percutaneous intervention (PCI) orangioplastyis a non-surgical procedure that helps reinstate blood flow through the coronary arteries. It is a cardiac catheterization procedure that guides a tube through an artery into the coronary arteries. Astentmay be placed during the procedure to help keep the artery open.
Surgical Intervention
Recovery after a heart attack will vary from person to person based on the severity of the heart attack and how soon they received treatment.
Cardiac rehabilitationis a program healthcare providers and medical staff organize to help patients recover and prevent another heart attack. The program provides education, exercise information, and lifestyle training. Hospitals and outpatient facilities offer it, and insurance often covers it.
Heart attacks are not always preventable. But you can make lifestyle changes toreduce your risk. These changes include regular exercise, quitting smoking, a healthy diet, and stress reduction.
If someone has already had a heart attack, their healthcare provider will likely prescribe certain medications to prevent another one from happening. These medications include:
A heart attack is a life-threatening situation with a surprisinglyhigh survival rate. A 2021 study found approximately 90% of people with a heart attack survived past the one-year mark.The rehabilitation programs and support from healthcare providers after a heart attack can help ease patients back into their normal routines and lifestyles.
14 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Heart Association.What is a heart attack?National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute.Heart attack symptoms.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heart disease.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Women and heart disease.Ferry AV, Anand A, Strachan FE, et al.Presenting symptoms in men and women diagnosed with myocardial infarction using sex‐specific criteria.J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8(17):e012307. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.012307National Institutes of Health.Heart attack symptoms in women.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Men and heart disease.Sutter Health.Early signs of a heart attack.National Institute on Aging.What is a heart attack?National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Causes and risk factors.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Heart attack diagnosis.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Heart attack treatment.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Recovery.Mozaffarian S, Etemad K, Aghaali M, et al.Short and long-term survival rates following myocardial infarction and its predictive factors: a study using national registry data.J Tehran Heart Cent. 2021;16(2):68-74. doi:10.18502/jthc.v16i2.7387
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Heart Association.What is a heart attack?National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute.Heart attack symptoms.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heart disease.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Women and heart disease.Ferry AV, Anand A, Strachan FE, et al.Presenting symptoms in men and women diagnosed with myocardial infarction using sex‐specific criteria.J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8(17):e012307. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.012307National Institutes of Health.Heart attack symptoms in women.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Men and heart disease.Sutter Health.Early signs of a heart attack.National Institute on Aging.What is a heart attack?National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Causes and risk factors.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Heart attack diagnosis.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Heart attack treatment.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Recovery.Mozaffarian S, Etemad K, Aghaali M, et al.Short and long-term survival rates following myocardial infarction and its predictive factors: a study using national registry data.J Tehran Heart Cent. 2021;16(2):68-74. doi:10.18502/jthc.v16i2.7387
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Heart Association.What is a heart attack?National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute.Heart attack symptoms.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heart disease.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Women and heart disease.Ferry AV, Anand A, Strachan FE, et al.Presenting symptoms in men and women diagnosed with myocardial infarction using sex‐specific criteria.J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8(17):e012307. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.012307National Institutes of Health.Heart attack symptoms in women.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Men and heart disease.Sutter Health.Early signs of a heart attack.National Institute on Aging.What is a heart attack?National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Causes and risk factors.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Heart attack diagnosis.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Heart attack treatment.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Recovery.Mozaffarian S, Etemad K, Aghaali M, et al.Short and long-term survival rates following myocardial infarction and its predictive factors: a study using national registry data.J Tehran Heart Cent. 2021;16(2):68-74. doi:10.18502/jthc.v16i2.7387
American Heart Association.What is a heart attack?
National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute.Heart attack symptoms.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Heart disease.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Women and heart disease.
Ferry AV, Anand A, Strachan FE, et al.Presenting symptoms in men and women diagnosed with myocardial infarction using sex‐specific criteria.J Am Heart Assoc. 2019;8(17):e012307. doi:10.1161/JAHA.119.012307
National Institutes of Health.Heart attack symptoms in women.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Men and heart disease.
Sutter Health.Early signs of a heart attack.
National Institute on Aging.What is a heart attack?
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Causes and risk factors.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Heart attack diagnosis.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Heart attack treatment.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Recovery.
Mozaffarian S, Etemad K, Aghaali M, et al.Short and long-term survival rates following myocardial infarction and its predictive factors: a study using national registry data.J Tehran Heart Cent. 2021;16(2):68-74. doi:10.18502/jthc.v16i2.7387
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