Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFeeling BeforePain and Discomfort LocationSensations With ComorbiditiesIf You’re UnsureAnxiety and Panic Attack Overlaps
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Feeling Before
Pain and Discomfort Location
Sensations With Comorbidities
If You’re Unsure
Anxiety and Panic Attack Overlaps
Chest pain, shortness of breath, and discomfort in one or both arms are some well-known heart attack symptoms. However, sudden nausea, fatigue, or dizziness can also be signs, especially in women. Indigestion or severe back pain can also signal a heart attack. Knowing whether you need medical attention can be challenging because some of these symptoms can be associated with less harmful conditions.
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When to Call 911
Feeling Leading Up to Heart Attack
Heart attacks can be sudden and intense orbegin slowly with mild painand discomfort. It can be painful, or you may feel very little pain.
Be aware of what is happening in your body and when a sensation doesn’t feel normal. Call 911 right away if you, or something you are with, experience the following:
Women may not experience these symptoms. Unexplained fatigue, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness, or severe upper back pain that feels like severe pressure or squeezing are common.
Heart Attack Symptoms for Women Can Be DifferentHeart attacks in women can be subtle. Women may think their symptoms are the flu or a regular part of menopause-related aging. Many patients report upper back pressure that feels like a rope is being tied tight around them. Dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, vomiting, or fainting are common symptoms. Call 911 immediately if you experience any symptoms that you are unsure about.
Heart Attack Symptoms for Women Can Be Different
Heart attacks in women can be subtle. Women may think their symptoms are the flu or a regular part of menopause-related aging. Many patients report upper back pressure that feels like a rope is being tied tight around them. Dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, vomiting, or fainting are common symptoms. Call 911 immediately if you experience any symptoms that you are unsure about.
Locating Pain and Discomfort on Body
While chest pain is often the first heart attack symptom you may think of, discomfort can show up in surprising areas. Pain, numbness, or pinching sensations may travel to your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back. It can feel like squeezing, pressure, or a dull ache rather than sharp pain.
Heart attack symptoms can be different for everyone and differ between men and women.
People with preexisting heart disease or nerve damage from any cause can also experience atypical symptoms during a heart attack or not feel any at all, making it harder to recognize when it is happening.
For instance,stable angina, a chronic heart condition, can cause symptoms that are identical to the start of a heart attack, such as chest pain.
People with heart failure often experience shortness of breath and fatigue, which can also mask when a heart attack is happening.
Diabetescan cause nerve damage, which can hide the warning signs of a heart attack. These are sometimes called “silent heart attacks,” in which symptoms like sudden fatigue, nausea, or shortness of breath are more likely to occur.
People who have heart disease or diabetes should pay closer attention to any changes in their usual symptoms and seek care right away if they think something is wrong.
If you’re unsure if you’re having a heart attack, it’s safer to act quickly rather than wait to see if the symptoms go away. Call 911 immediately if you experience symptoms of a heart attack, especially if they start suddenly.
Even if you feel confident you’re not having a heart attack, it’s best to be cautious and have a healthcare provider rule it out. The sooner you get to the hospital, the better your chances are of survival and recovery.
Panic attacksand periods of intense anxiety can feel like you are having a heart attack. Symptoms of panic or anxiety can include chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and a fast heartbeat.
However, there are differences between panic attacks and heart attacks, including:
Summary
Knowing what a heart attack feels and looks like is essential. However, symptoms do not always appear as they are portrayed in the media. If you are unsure that you are experiencing heart attack symptoms, it is better to call 911 anyway. Quick medical attention will increase your chances of recovery and survival, or a healthcare provider can rule out a heart event.
8 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.Warning signs of a heart attack.Penn Medicine.4 silent heart attack signs.American Heart Association.Heart attack symptoms in women.Harvard Health Publishing.Chest pain: a heart attack or something else?MedlinePlus.Stable angina.American Heart Association.Silent heart attack all too common, often overlooked.MedlinePlus.Autonomic neuropathy.American Heart Association.How to tell the difference between a heart attack an a panic attack.
8 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.Warning signs of a heart attack.Penn Medicine.4 silent heart attack signs.American Heart Association.Heart attack symptoms in women.Harvard Health Publishing.Chest pain: a heart attack or something else?MedlinePlus.Stable angina.American Heart Association.Silent heart attack all too common, often overlooked.MedlinePlus.Autonomic neuropathy.American Heart Association.How to tell the difference between a heart attack an a panic attack.
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.Warning signs of a heart attack.Penn Medicine.4 silent heart attack signs.American Heart Association.Heart attack symptoms in women.Harvard Health Publishing.Chest pain: a heart attack or something else?MedlinePlus.Stable angina.American Heart Association.Silent heart attack all too common, often overlooked.MedlinePlus.Autonomic neuropathy.American Heart Association.How to tell the difference between a heart attack an a panic attack.
American Heart Association.Warning signs of a heart attack.
Penn Medicine.4 silent heart attack signs.
American Heart Association.Heart attack symptoms in women.
Harvard Health Publishing.Chest pain: a heart attack or something else?
MedlinePlus.Stable angina.
American Heart Association.Silent heart attack all too common, often overlooked.
MedlinePlus.Autonomic neuropathy.
American Heart Association.How to tell the difference between a heart attack an a panic attack.
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