The symptoms listed below are meant to make you aware of how symptoms we often associate with other conditions, like heartburn, can actually be your body trying to warn you about your heart. Aches and pains caused by your heart, but felt in different areas of your body, like your neck and jaw, are called referred pain.

The heart shares a bundle of nerves that service our arms, chest, and upper torso, so if you feel back pain or a sore jaw, this could be your heart sounding an alarm bell, but getting its signals crossed. Of course, it could also simply be exactly what it feels like. A dodgy tooth or a strained back muscle.

That’s why it’s important to learn about all the types of referred pain and consider any symptoms you may be experiencing in the context of your current physical condition. If you’re over forty, overweight, and unfit, then back pain accompanied by, for instance, sweating and shortness of breath should send you straight in to your doctor.

It isn’t just obese and unfit over-40’s that have heart attacks though. Any person, of any age and physical condition can suffer a heart attack for a variety of reasons, so it’s best to educate yourself on the most common early warning signs.

Not only could recognizing these signs save your life, but you could also potentially save someone else’s by seeing their aches and pains for what they really are. A warning.

Shortness of breath

Trouble getting up those stairs? Have you noticed a sudden and rapid decrease in your lung capacity? Do even small exertions leave you feeling out of breath? This symptom, even experienced on its own, requires immediate examination by your doctor. Don’t put it off. Heart-related shortness of breath does not need to be accompanied by chest pain.

Feeling Dizzy

Dizziness or lightheadedness coupled with chest pain and shortness of breath may indicate a decrease in blood volume and a drop in blood pressure, which means a heart attack could be on the way.

Feeling tired and listless

A feeling of fatigue will often accompany one or more of these symptoms, particularly in women. They can experience fatigue a month before having a heart attack. The National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute warn that this sign is especially prominent in women.

Heartburn, nausea, and indigestion

It could be that spicy curry you had for lunch or it could be something far more serious. Gastric symptoms like a queasy stomach, vomiting, or belching can develop when the heart and other areas of the body aren’t receiving enough blood supply. You can interpret this as acid reflux or heartburn, so it’s important to reach out to your doctor, especially if you’re having other heart related symptoms.

Pressure or feeling constricted, tightness

The most common and well know signal of an impending heart attack. These feelings will usually come in waves and will dissipate after a few minutes. The American Heart Association describes this symptom as “uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of your chest”. This symptom can be accompanied by an increased feeling of stress and anxiety. Don’t ignore this symptom. Consult your doctor as soon as possible.

Sweating

Sweating is the body’s mechanism for cooling us down and is totally normal. In some instances, we sweat more, from excessive heat, exercise and in the case of women, the onset of menopause can trigger sweating. A heart attack triggers your nervous system, which in turn activates a “fight or flight” response that puts you in survival mode and could lead to sweating. ‘Cold sweats’ and ‘night sweats’ without the presence of fever should be taken seriously.

Referred Pain

Earlier we described how confused nerves can send out heart-related pain signals to other areas of your body. These can occur in places other than the chest, like the back, shoulders, arms, neck, or jaw. Women are more likely to experience pain in the neck, jaw, and back. Again, referred pain should be considered alongside the presence of other symptoms. A useful tip for back pain is the inability to localize the origin, in other words, there isn’t a specific spot you can point at for the pain.

Palpitations or irregular heartbeat

When the heart is starved of blood, it can lead to the sensation of heart palpitations or a racing heart. This is an unmistakable signal from your heart that something is amiss. If you feel like you’re having heart palpitations, make sure you contact your doctor right away, even in the absence of any other symptoms.

The post Eight Early Signs of Heart Trouble You Shouldn’t Ignore appeared first on Medika Life.

This is what a heart attack can feel like.

But is a heart attack the only thing this could be? Is this the only way a heart attack can feel? Should you drive yourself to the hospital or call 911? How is a heart attack diagnosed? What exactly is a heart attack? What’s going to happen next?

You’re filled with questions.

This article will answer many, if not all, of them.

Why should you read this? What are my credentials?

I’m an Emergency Physician — an “ER Doc” — who spent 37 years in the medical field before retiring in mid-2020. About a third of those years were spent in the private sector directly caring for patients, many of whom were having heart attacks. The other two-thirds of my career was in the academic/university sector, still caring for patients but also researching, writing, and teaching. In particular, I taught medical students and young doctors in training, teaching them how to be better doctors.

I’ve cared for hundreds of patients with heart attacks and many thousands more with symptoms suggesting a heart attack that turned out to be something else. Also, I’ve cared for many people whose symptoms were unlike the classic description above, but still, it turned out that they too were having heart attacks.

What is a heart attack?

Let’s break down “myocardial infarction,” the precise medical term for “heart attack.”

Myo = muscle (made up of cells)

Cardial = referring to the heart

Infarction = death

Putting this all together, a heart attack or myocardial infarction is the “death of cells that make up heart muscle.”

How common are heart attacks?

Roughly 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 Americans have heart attacks each year. About one-third of these individuals die.

How does a heart attack usually happen?

The heart is a muscle made up of cells. Just like other muscles, the heart’s muscle cells depend on a steady supply of oxygen from the bloodstream to live and function properly. And just like other muscles, open blood vessels are necessary for the heart’s muscle cells to receive blood and oxygen. When one of these blood vessels is blocked, heart muscle cells die. Heart muscle cell death is a heart attack or myocardial infarction.

A blood clot in an already-narrowed blood vessel that supplies heart muscle is the usual cause of a heart attack.

What happens in the United States and in many places in the world when you go to the hospital concerned that you’re having a heart attack?

You see someone just like me, an ER Doc. If it’s a heart attack, a cardiologist — a heart specialist — will be involved in your care, slightly later. But, you’re generally met in your hospital’s Emergency Department by an Emergency Physician who can immediately begin treatment, potentially save your life and diagnose your condition.

Why should you call 911, the paramedics, when you think you’re having a heart attack?

Paramedics too can immediately begin treatment and potentially save your life. They cannot diagnose your condition with absolute certainty but they can do an important first test — an EKG (or ECG) — and monitor your condition. They can intervene with certain helpful treatments and begin life-saving measures if they are called for. Paramedics can also go “lights-and-sirens,” getting you to the hospital quickly and in the safest way possible.

Some other helpful tips: remain as calm as possible, have someone stay with you, call 911 without delay, chew and swallow an aspirin, sit or recline quietly, do not panic.

What is an EKG (ECG)

An electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG) is a “heart wave tracing,” a record of the heart’s electrical activity. This recording gives doctors and others in healthcare a tremendous amount of useful information. Often, but not always, a heart attack can be immediately diagnosed by the EKG’s distinctly abnormal pattern indicating that heart muscle damage has occurred.

Why do I write “often, but not always” above?

An EKG is a useful test and frequently a helpful one, providing lots of relevant information, but IT IS NOT A PERFECT TEST. There are no perfect tests in medicine. In other words, a person’s EKG can be normal and they’ll still be having a heart attack. Also, someone’s EKG can be abnormal and it does NOT signal that they’re having a heart attack.

Physician judgment and interpretation of the information an EKG provides figures heavily into decisions that are made about whether or not an individual is having a heart attack.

Also, other tests, including x-rays, laboratory investigations, CT scans and more can be, and often are, done to help determine what is really going on.

Again, an EKG is an important test in someone suspected of having a heart attack, but it is just one test among many that can and will be done. It’s interpretation in context is critically important. The information provided by an EKG is NOT perfect. To repeat, a normal EKG does NOT mean no heart attack, and an abnormal EKG does NOT necessarily mean a heart attack has occurred.

What other tests are immediately done to diagnose a heart attack?

In addition to the EKG, a blood test measuring troponin is done. This substance, a so-called “biochemical marker,” is released into the bloodstream when heart muscle cells die. Troponin testing is often done several times even in the Emergency Department.

The combination of an abnormal EKG, particularly one that that is abnormal in a very specific way, and an elevated troponin level, usually provides enough information to diagnose a heart attack.

What else can feel like a heart attack

This is not a complete list by any means, but other medical problems with similar or overlapping symptoms can be: pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs), heart muscle inflammation or infection, aortic dissection (tearing of the large artery that exits the heart and supplies blood to the rest of the body), infection or inflammation of the heart’s covering membrane, diseases of the esophagus (muscular tube connecting the mouth with the stomach), and MANY others.

Hospitalization — yes/no?

Again, physician judgment, a variety of tests, and even some days in the hospital to allow further evaluation may be required to determine whether or not a heart attack has occurred. If one has occurred, determining its extent (size and location) and assessing its immediate aftereffects should occur in the hospital. Hospitalization will also allow for other tests to be done, if required, if a heart attack is NOT the diagnosis or not the only diagnosis.

Therapy for heart attacks starts in the Emergency Department and continues in the hospital. This may include surgery to bypass blocked blood vessels, medications and other treatments to open blocked blood vessels, medications to limit a heart attack’s size and severity, medications to treat associated medical conditions, and more.

Do all heart attacks feel like the description above?

The short answer … no!

That is a fairly classic or “textbook” description. Many people including women, diabetics, the elderly, and those with certain other conditions may experience a wide variety of other symptoms, or almost no symptoms at all. “Silent” heart attacks can and do occur. These are heart attacks without any symptoms at all or perhaps no symptoms that patients can remember.

By way of example, I’ve seen elderly patients with behavioral changes who turned out to be having heart attacks, women with shortness of breath only, diabetics with what seemed like indigestion or upper abdominal pain, and MANY others.

Bottom line — if you are concerned about a set of symptoms, even including mild chest discomfort, mild breathlessness, skipped heartbeats, a feeling of “indigestion” and others, seek medical attention. Let medical professionals decide if it’s a heart attack or something else

Do only old people have heart attacks?

Again, the short answer is NO!

People of any age, including teenagers and twenty-somethings, can have heart attacks. I’ve seen this happen.

Even infants and children can have them, rarely, but they do occur.

Heart attacks do become increasingly common as age increases.

What can you do now to help prevent a heart attack?

There are a variety of conditions and so-called risk factors that lead to narrowing of the heart’s blood vessels (the “coronary” blood vessels) leading to a heart attack.

Some of these include advancing age, smoking, overweight and obesity, diabetes, a family history of coronary artery disease, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, and more.

Some of these conditions and risk factors are under your control and some are not.

Smoking is known to be a significant risk factor for heart attack and is completely under one’s control. So, if you smoke, quit!

Avoid weight gain if possible. Seek to lose weight if you’re overweight.

Obtain treatment for other conditions that lead to coronary artery disease and heart attack.

Bottom line — heart health, heart attack risk, and strategies to avoid heart attacks are complex, long-term issues best discussed with your primary healthcare provider.

The post How to Tell if You’re Having a Heart Attack appeared first on Medika Life.

What does heart related back pain feel like?

This symptom, usually occurs in your upper back and is more likely to affect women. The pain can originate in your chest and then “move” to your back. Although most often felt in the upper back, it can also occasionally cause pain in the lower back.

Onset can be sudden and pain can wake you at night. The pain is most often described as originating between the shoulder blades. As there are many non-heart related causes for back pain, its important to consider any of the other heart attack symptoms that would indicate your pain is heart related. If you find it difficult to pinpoint the pain, this could be an indicator of heart related pain.

Why does your heart cause this symptom?

It’s a case of crossed wires. Our bodies are normally very specific when they send out pain signals. Close your finger in the door and you know which part of your body isn’t impressed with you. The heart is a little bit more complicated as it shares nerves that send out signals to our arms, head and upper body.

As a result heart related symptoms like back pain are called referred pain. In other words, although that area feels painful, it isn’t the problem. Your heart is the issue and the signals have simply gotten mixed up. The source of origin for referred pain is also more diffuse and difficult for patients to pinpoint.

Accompanying symptoms

Back pain can occur as an isolated symptom or be accompanied by pain in your neck, jaw, shoulder or chest and you may experience nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, or lightheadedness. If your back pain is accompanied by any these symptoms, seek immediate medical help.

If you’ve recently noticed any of the following, you should also seek medical attention if your back pain is unexplained.

• feeling tired or out of breath from your normal day to day routine
• struggling for breath from activities that don’t normally tax you
• feeling tired and listless but struggling to sleep
• sudden feelings of dread or anxiousness (panic attack)

Gender prevalence for back pain

Women experience this symptom far more than men do and many women report the pain as having started in their chests and then moving to the upper back area. For women, it is a typical red flag, but men may not experience any back pain at all. Women are also more likely than men to feel their back pain while they’re resting or sleeping.

Alternate Causes of back pain

Even if you suffer from any of the conditions listed below, you may still experience back pain as a result of a heart condition. The pain may not feel the same as the pain you normally experience from an existing condition.

The most common causes of upper back pain are muscular, related to poor posture, trapped nerves or degenerative conditions of the spine and bones. These include some of the following

• Back muscle spasm, sprain or strain
• Cancers
• Degenerative disc disease
• Herniated (bulged or ruptured) disc
• Lung Cancer
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteomyelitis
• Osteoporosis
• Spinal stenosis
• Spondylitis

A life-threatening cause of back pain is an aortic dissection, a condition in which the biggest artery in your chest tears.

Are there clear signs it’s your heart?

There are a few tell tale signs that would indicate the pain in your back is related to your heart.

• Sharp pain that wakes you but you are unable to pinpoint the source of the pain
• Pain is most often described as occurring between the shoulder blades
• If the pain is accompanied by sudden excessive sweating not related to menopause
• If you find yourself suddenly short of breath from normal activities
• If your back pain is accompanied by one or more of the other heart related symptoms seek immediate medical attention

When to call your Doctor or 911

If you are experiencing upper back pain, especially pain that travels to your jaw, neck or down your arm, and are having associated symptoms of nausea, dizziness, sweating, or shortness of breath, call 911 right away.

If you are in an at risk group for heart disease (elderly, diabetic, obese, overweight, smoker or high blood pressure) then you should treat any back pain seriously. The more prolonged the discomfort or pain is, the faster you should seek medical care. Dial 911 or visit your nearest ER

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Anxiety, in particular, anxiety disorders, enjoy a complex relationship with coronary health. There are studies and evidence to suggest that abnormal and continued levels of extreme anxiety can contribute to heart conditions and then there is the anxiety and depression experienced by patients with heart disease as a direct result of the disease itself.

If you haven’t been diagnosed with a heart condition, heart disease, or high blood pressure and you feel occasional anxiety, stress, or get panicky once in a while, this isn’t likely to be your heart, and this type of anxiety won’t cause damage to your heart. However, if you exist in a constant state of anxiety and stress, then this will impact your blood pressure and by association, affect your heart.

Anxiety disorder is a chronic condition characterized by disproportionate and persistent anxiety. The five major types include generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social anxiety disorder. It is one of the most common diagnoses in the US, with one in five adults receiving treatment for the condition.

For the purposes of this article, we will assume the anxiety described below is that felt by patients not diagnosed with or suffering from any heart-related diseases or conditions.

What does heart related anxiety feel like?

There isn’t a huge amount of distinction to be made between normal anxiety and attacks of anxiety triggered by your heart. You need to be aware of other heart-related symptoms that may accompany the feelings of anxiety. Anxiety can cause your heart to race (tachycardia) and can be accompanied by sweating, increases in blood pressure, and affect your sleep patterns, which negatively impacts blood pressure and heart health. Common physical symptoms experienced include

• Pounding heart
• Sweating
• Headaches
• Stomach upset
• Dizziness
• Frequent urination or diarrhea
• Shortness of breath
• Muscle tension or twitches
• Shaking or trembling
• Insomnia

The link between your heart and anxiety

Anxiety activates the body’s autonomic nervous system (ANS), also known as the “fight or flight response.” The ANS helps regulate the functions of the

• heart
• lungs
• digestive system
• various muscles throughout the body

Anxiety relating to or caused by your heart can often be self-inflicted. A patient may worry about dying from heart failure if they have already experienced a heart attack. Many patients do this subconsciously and aren’t even aware of it. Surviving a heart attack can be very traumatic and lead to anxiety that is similar to PTSD.

While there have been multiple studies that link depression to heart disease, the relationship between anxiety and cardiovascular disease seems to be a little more complex. Due to the high prevalence of anxiety in cardiovascular patients, researchers are further investigating if anxiety is a direct cause of heart disease or simply a correlation.

Accompanying symptoms

Both conditions include:

• Chest Pain
• Difficulty Breathing or Shortness of Breath
• Intense Feeling of Doom
• Lightheadedness or Feeling Faint
• Rapid Heartbeat
• Weak or Tingling Feeling in Limbs

Its easy to see why it is so difficult to distinguish the root cause for these symptoms without proper medical diagnosis. If you are experiencing these symptoms please consult your doctor as soon as possible.

Gender prevalence for anxiety

After the age of six, women are twice as likely to experience anxiety as men.

Several studies have examined sex differences in different anxiety disorders. Females are repeatedly found to be more likely than males to suffer from anxiety in general and to be diagnosed with most anxiety disorders, including agoraphobia (AG), panic disorder (PD), separation anxiety (SA), specific phobia (SP), social anxiety disorder (SAD) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)

Are there clear signs it’s your heart?

While not as accurate as a professional diagnosis, there are subtle differences between anxiety and heart problems which you may be able to determine at home.

• The chest pain from an anxiety attack is sharper and more localized, while the pain from a heart attack is duller and radiates more
• Anxiety attacks stem from a mental and not a physical cause
• Anxiety attacks rarely cause vomiting
• Heart attack pain may occur in the back or shoulders, while anxiety pain does not

And remember – anxiety and heart problems can happen to people who have never had issues with either.

Treating frequent anxiety

If you experience anxious feelings frequently or if you find yourself experiencing anxiety and you’re not sure why, tell your primary care physician or seek out a mental health professional for help. You may have an anxiety disorder that could be managed with a combination of therapy and medication.

Diagnosing an anxiety disorder often starts with a physical examination by a doctor. Certain conditions may cause anxiety, such as:

• heart disease
• thyroid disease
• respiratory disorders
• withdrawal from drugs or alcohol

When to call your Doctor or 911

If you are experiencing chest pain of any kind, especially if it travels to your jaw or down your arm, and are having associated symptoms of nausea, dizziness, sweating, or shortness of breath, call 911 right away.

If you are in an at-risk group for heart disease (elderly, diabetic, obese, overweight, smoker, or high blood pressure) then you should treat any chest pain very seriously. The more prolonged the discomfort or pain is, the faster you should seek medical care. Dial 911 or visit your nearest ER

The post Anxiety as a symptom of Heart Attack appeared first on Medika Life.

What does heart related chest pain feel like?

This is discomfort or frank pain in the area of the chest. Usually, it is “substernal,” which means it is behind the breastbone. It can be sharp, or stabbing, or sometimes burning. Many individuals experience the feeling of pressure on or about the chest area. This feeling is aggravated by exercise and tends to stop or lessen if the person rests. This pressure can be described as a weight placed on the rib cage or constrictive bands pulled tight around the chest.

Why does your heart cause this symptom?

When the heart suffers from a lack of blood flow, it causes pain in the chest area. There are a number of conditions associated with your heart that can cause pain in your chest.

• Coronary Artery Disease, or CAD
• Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle)
• Pericarditis (inflammation of the covering of the heart)
• Coronary artery dissection (tearing of the blood vessels in the heart)
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (abnormal thickening of the heart muscle)
• Mitral valve prolapse (abnormal function of one of the heart valves)

Accompanying symptoms

Frequently, pain in the chest is accompanied by nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, or lightheadedness. Sometimes, the pain can also travel from the chest to the jaw or down the left arm. Sometimes, the pain can also travel to the back. If your chest pain is accompanied by any these symptoms, seek immediate medical help.

Gender prevalence for chest pain

Women experience this symptom far less than men do. For men, it is a typical red flag, but women may not experience any chest pain at all. Women are also more likely than men to feel their chest pain while they’re resting or sleeping, while men tend to feel it when they’re active.

Does age, race or other factors affect chest pain?

Conditions such as diabetes can affect how symptoms of chest pain are experienced. In some diabetics, due to the nerve damage from diabetes, they may not suffer from any chest pain at all.

Alternate Causes of chest pain

Heartburn can also cause chest pain, and it can mimic symptoms of a heart attack. Viral inflammation of the heart (such as can be caused by SARS CoV-2), blood clots in the lungs, inflammation of the sac around the heart, and tearing of the blood vessel wall (aortic dissection) can be the culprit.

Your chest covers quite a lot of other things that could be causing that pain. Layers of muscle, bones, cartilage, nerves, your stomach, lungs and esophagus could all be responsible for pain in your chest. Issues with your stomach or gastrointestinal area can often be mistaken for heart-related pain. So can pain caused by inflammation of the cartilage that connects your ribs to your breast bone. Asthma, pneumonia and panic attacks can also cause pain in your chest.

Lungs: The following lung conditions can be responsible for chest pain. Pleuritis (pleuresy), pneumonia or lung abscess, pulmonary embolism, pneumothorax, pulmonary hypertension and asthma.

Gastro intestinal:Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), Esophageal contraction disorders, Esophageal hypersensitivity. Esophageal rupture or perforation. Peptic ulcers, Hiatal hernia, Pancreatitis and Gallbladder problems.

Bone, muscle and nerves: Rib problems, muscle strain, shingles

Even doctors can struggle to distinguish if it’s your heart that causing the pain, so it is wise to always consult your doctor if you are experiencing pain or discomfort in your chest. Don’t self diagnose, it could cost you your life.

Are there clear signs it’s your heart?

There are a few tell tale signs that would indicate the pain in your chest is related to your heart.

• Pain that lasts a few seconds usually isn’t heart related, but if the pain persists for any period of time, then it’s time to call 911 or head down to your ER.
• Pressing on your chest shouldn’t affect the pain. If it does it is more likely to be muscular and not your heart.
• Taking a deep breath shouldn’t aggravate the pain. If it does, then again, this is more likely a lung or muscle related pain.
• Your current physical state. If you’re young, fit, healthy and don’t smoke or suffer from any of the risk vectors like diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity, then it is less likely to be your heart.
• Nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, or lightheadedness are a serious indicator if they accompany chest pain,

Dispelling Myths about chest pain

• Chest pain means you’re having a heart attack – False: You can experience chest pain for a number of different reasons, see above.
• Everyone experiences the symptoms in the same way – False: for example, women, diabetics and older people tend to have very atypical chest pain. It’s different for each person.

When to call your Doctor or 911

If you are experiencing chest pain of any kind, especially if it travels to your jaw or down your arm, and are having associated symptoms of nausea, dizziness, sweating, or shortness of breath, call 911 right away.

If you are in an at risk group for heart disease (elderly, diabetic, obese, overweight, smoker or high blood pressure) then you should treat any chest pain very seriously. The more prolonged the discomfort or pain is, the faster you should seek medical care. Dial 911 or visit your nearest ER

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