What Does A Heart Attack Feel Like?

We’ve all seen an image of someone having a heart attack on our favorite television medical drama. There’s a dependable series of events that seems to occur according to television and movies. First, the patient grasps at his or her chest, then they stumble back, and eventually fall back into a chair or even onto the ground. And, should you ever experience one, some of those things may happen to you. But watching it on television isn’t the best way to help you understand what having a heart attack actually feels like.

Here are some of the most common sensations that patients report after they fall victim:

Chest Pain
One of the most common symptoms of a heart attack is the feeling of chest pains. In medical terms, this pain is called Angina and it occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t get enough oxygen because of a lack of fresh blood to the heart.

Pain In The Left Arm
Angina is also the root of another common symptom: left arm pain. This occurs due to a mix up in the brain that causes your body to believe that your arm is the source of your pain. Arm and chest pain are both symptoms more likely to be experienced by men than by women.

Shortness of Breath
The primary role of your heart is to pump oxygenated blood through the rest of your body. It receives that oxygen from what you inhale into your lungs. When your heart isn’t pumping properly it can impact your ability to catch a deep breath. This causes the sensation of being short of breath that so many people complain about as an attack is occurring.

Nausea
Although men primarily experience pain in their chest or left arm as an early symptom of an attack, women tend to experience nausea. This can be easily misconstrued as a symptom of the flu or other gastrointestinal distress leaving women too often go far too long without seeking medical attention.

Fatigue
Considering all of the symptoms listed above, it’s easy to see why someone would end up feeling fatigued with the onset of a heart attack. All of the pain and discomfort, the inability to catch a full breath, combined with the stress that your body is experiencing at that moment is nothing short of exhausting.

Any of these unexplained symptoms can be scary, but when combined, they can be seriously dangerous - even deadly. Take note when you begin to feel any combination of these sensations and take action immediately. Research shows that too often female patients underestimate their symptoms and are thus less likely to survive an attack than men. For more information about heart attack prevention and survival, contact us today.