Warning Signs of a Heart Attack

Your body always tells you about its condition. But the question is, are you listening to your body? Yes, your body warns you through subtle symptoms, like nausea, stomach discomfort or cold sweats about a future heart attack. 

This is the way your body shows warning signs of a heart attack. Recognizing warning signs of a heart attack is a blessing because early signs of future heart attack indicate when and how you can prevent it. Sometimes, the indications are very obvious and you can understand them but sometimes, they are less obvious and you cannot take them as the right warning sign. Early heart attack warning signs help you save your life or someone around you. 

What is a Heart Attack?

Chest pain is considered the most obvious warning sign of a heart attack. But you will be astonished to learn that this is not true. Because many heart attacks do not show chest [ai as a symptom of heart attack. Yes, it is proved through medical research that often people do not experience pain in their chest during or before a heart attack but instead they experience pain in other parts of the body, including shoulder, arm or back. Some other symptoms include fatigue and over-sweating with shortness of breath.

But it will be weird to know that you may have a heart attack without experiencing any chest congestion or shortness of breath. Studies show that several types of heart disease do not show the same signs for men and women. 

What is the Function of Heart and How it Helps Predict a Heart Attack?

According to studies, your heart is composed of a muscle, cardiac muscle. It pumps blood throughout the body. When the heart experiences a shortage in blood supply, it may be caught by a heart attack. Blood is actually a carrier of oxygen and food to your heart muscles. When enough blood is not supplied to your heart muscles, the affected parts or muscles of the heart get damaged. This dangerous condition, sometimes, causes death. 

Most of the heat attacks occur suddenly and people cannot do anything to prevent it, but the heart attack is actually a result of an untreated long-standing heart disease. 

In addition, your blood vessels are outlined with a layer of waxy plaque from inside. This plaque layer works to feed your heart muscles as it contains all types of nutrients your heart muscles need. Sometimes, a piece of plaque breaks out and gets stuck in the blood vessels. It prevents blood passing through your vessels and ultimately blocks the supply of blood to heart muscles. It causes a heart attack.

Moreover, researchers suggested that some factors like physical exertion, stress, or intense weather also cause heart attack but these factors are less common. These factors cause the blood vessels to contract   leading to decrease the supply of oxygenated blood to your cardiac muscles.

But the good news is that you can prevent a future myocardial infarction (heart attack) only by discussing and understanding the warning signs of a heart attack that your body shows before a heart failure. The most common warning signs of heart attack are discussed next. Keep on reading!

8 Warning Signs of a Heart Attack

Heat attack is unmistakable and unpredictable in most cases. If you experience clutching your chest in pain, and start sweating continuously for hours, you may collapse. These symptoms are commonly observed when a person experiences a heart attack. But, always the case is not the same because in some people, heart attack doesn’t show obvious symptoms. It occurs silently with signs that are not related to emergency situations. That;s why it is necessary to learn about the warning signs of a heart attack that can be easy to shrug off, including:

• Cold sweets.
• Shortness of breath.
• Congestion or tightness in the chest.
• Excessive fatigue.
• Vomiting or nausea.
• Pain in your shoulder, neck, arm or back.
• Indigestion or GERD.

The appearance of such subtle symptoms can be a warning sign of a heart attack. But if you don’t take these symptoms seriously and ignore them, they may lead to a heart attack. It may be a life-threatening step. 

So the first cause of heart attack is blockage in blood supply to your cardiac muscles. This means blood isn’t reaching your heart. Lack of blood leads to death of your heart tissues and muscles, eventually. If you don’t take steps to restore blood supply to your heart, the result may be damaged or dead heart muscles leading to your death. So try to keep in mind the most common warning signs of a heart attack, so that you may take precautionary steps to save your or your loved ones’ lives.

Discomfort, Pain, or Pressure in the Chest

Chest discomfort or congestion is the most common sign of a heart attack. But studies reveal that chest pain doesn’t occur in every heart attack. Most heart attack survivors said that they didn’t experience chest pain before or during a heart attack. Instead, they reported that they had felt a squeezing or tight chest but this comfort was temporary and went away after a few moments. Some people said that they felt a burden on their chest like a heavy weight of a mountain rock had been put on their chest. Sometimes the discomfort comes after a few hours or days. These signs indicate that there is a shortage of blood supply to your heart. So, experiencing chest pain, or tightness in the chest, call the emergency medical help. Don’t waste time, it would be fatal.

Pain or Tightness in Other Areas of Body

Not only a chest’s passive tightness indicates the heart attack but the pain in other areas also show the warning signs of a heart attack. The chest pain often radiates to those parts of the body such as in your left arm. Other locations of pain and tightness, include:

• Shoulder.
• Neck.
• Back.
• Upper abdomen.
• Jawbone or teeth.

According to studies, several cases had been studied in cardiac centers where heart attack had been caused due to a pain in the lower portion of the chest or upper portion of abdomen. But all those were women. 

This is a clearly verified theory that the heart attack pin is not confined to the chest but it readily radiates to other body parts. It may be in the form of pressure, pain or tightness in those parts of the body as well. In women, another common sign of a heart attack is cited as the most obvious symptom, the pain in the upper back.

Excessive Sweating all Time

Unusual sweating is a warning sign , especially sweating without any physical exertion or exercise. Excessive sweating occurs due to exerting more efforts by your heart to pump blood through clogged arteries. In this condition, your body sweat more so that the body temperature may be kept down even after extra exertion. If you. Often, experience calming skin with cold sweats,talk to your doctor. It may be an obvious sign of a heart attack.

In addition, studies also show that people who are at risk of a future heart attack and experience night sweating. Women often mistake this heart troubles as a sign of menopause and ignore it. But it is not as you think. You should talk to your doctor, if your bed-sheet is soaked with sweat when you wake up. This is not as wet, instead it is a sigh of heart attack.

Vomiting , Nausea, and Indigestion

Mild gastrointestinal issues or indigestion problems are also associated with heart track. Studies show that heart attacks usually occur in old age people who have frequent stomach problems, including indigestion and gastrointestinal diseases. In most cases people mistake these symptoms to the signs of food-related complications such as heart burn, acid reflux or GERD. If you experience such symptoms, talk to your doctor immediately because these signs may tell you that something else is going on in your body.

Shortness of Breath

The pumping system of the heart is closely related to your breathing. The heart pumps blood throughout your blood vessels, tissues and organs, as well as carrying oxygen to your lungs. When your heart can’t pump blood smoothly, you may experience a shortness of breath that is an obvious warning sign of a heat attack.

In addition, unusual fatigue due to extra exertion is also experienced accompanied by shortness of breath. This is common in women with a higher risk of heart attack. Women are more likely to develop heart diseases, if they experience shortness of breath and excess fatigue after a physical activity. They feel exhausted and unable to catch their breath even after climbing stairs, running or walking briskly. In women, this is a common sign of an upcoming heart attack.

Heart Palpitations

Heart palpitations means that your heart is skipping a beat or experiencing changes in heart rhythm. You may feel that your heart is throbbing or pounding. This is because your heart rel;y on a consistent, smooth and rhythmic heart beat. The disturbed or irregular heart beat is a clear sign that you have a heart problem. 

According to studies, in women the heart attack signs are more obvious than men. Women feel uneasiness and anxiety when they have a heart  attack. Earth palpitations are similar to the pounding of the heart. During heart palpitations people feel that their heart is thriving in their neck, not in their chest. Therefore, changes in your heart rhythm should be taken seriously. Because the permanent change in heart rhythm requires a medical  intervention to get back to the original rhythm. Sometimes the heart palpitations occur along with fainting, dizziness, chest or chest congestion, this is the sign of heart attack.

Fatigue

Although fatigue is not considered as the most prominent sign of heart attack, studies suggest that it is a greater sign of heart attack in women, especially. Latest research has found that heart attack symptoms are often similar to flu symptoms and it is occasionally observed in  women. This is because extra stress on your heart causes exhaustion and congestion due to blocked blood flow in the areas around the heart. Feeling tired and dizzy most of the time without any reason is an obvious sign of heart attack. Unusual tiredness and dizziness is the alarming sign that there’s something wrong with your circulatory system. 

Other prominent symptoms of heart attack shortness of breath and suffocation. These signs of fatigue are also common in women and begin to appear around 4 to 6 months before a heart attack. Therefore, experts suggested that visiting a doctor for a complete checkup on a regular basis can help identify early signs of a heart attack.

Lightheadedness

Overexertion and intense physical activities often create lightheadedness that leads to a sudden heart attack. Heart attack often comes with certain symptoms including difficulty in staying alert and  active. People who suffer from heart attacks usually feel weak and cannot easily stand up for a while. These are not normal sensations. You cannot ignore them. Share all the symptoms with your doctor so that they may diagnose the time of occurrence of a heart attack.

Conclusion

Signs of heart attack are so obvious and prominent in a number of cases that a common man can identify them. However, in most cases people just ignore them and create a solid reason to suffer from a heart attack. Studies show that understanding of signs of heart attack is essential as it can help prevent a future heart attack. Some common tips to reduce the risk of heart attack include:

• Make sure you’re taking all medications that have been prescribed  by your doctor.
• Avoid overexertion and intense physical activities. Go to the doctor for regular checkups.

These steps can help lower the risk of heart attack.

In addition, people who already had a heart attack or a bypass surgery for heart should follow the doctor’s instructions throughout their life to prevent future mishaps.