I’ve been taking classes at a glass studio in Portland. How does this relate to heart attacks? One of the owners had one recently, and ended up having a quadruple bypass!
He told me he didn’t know he was having a heart attack. In fact, he spent a weekend in discomfort but going about his usual business before finally going to the emergency room on Monday for what he thought was kidney stones. The pain didn’t get too severe until the third day after the heart attack happened — the actual attack happened on a Friday. By the third day, he was starting to feel chest pains with every heartbeat and experience shortness of breath.
In many heart attack cases, the symptoms come on slowly — it isn’t always quick and dramatic like we see on television. A person having a heart attack may not realize it is their heart that is the problem!
These are the most common symptoms of a heart attack:
- Chest discomfort — pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. The discomfort may last or it may come and go.
- Upper body discomfort — pain in the arms, up and down the back, in the stomach, or even in the neck and jaw.
- Shortness of breath — this symptom can appear without chest discomfort or other pain.
- Cold sweats.
- Nausea and/or vomiting.
- Lightheadedness.
Men typically experience chest discomfort when having a heart attack, but not always. Women are more likely to experience upper body pain instead. Chest pressure, pain, or discomfort plus any of the other symptoms on the list should be a major warning sign for you — seek help immediately. If you can, have a friend or family member or coworker drive you to the doctor or emergency room. Even if you aren’t sure… it’s better to get tested than to not know and risk serious health issues or even your life.