Heart Attack Warning Signs

Learn more about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack. If you learn the signs of a heart attack and what steps to take, you can save a life – maybe your own.

Heart Attack Warning Signs

Below are the signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Please review them. Should you experience any of these, call 911, or have someone drive you immediately to the hospital. DO NOT DRIVE YOURSELF.

Any one or more of the following could indicate a heart attack.

Chest Discomfort or Pain

  • Sudden discomfort or pain in the chest area that lasts longer than 15 minutes.
  • The chest area may include the neck or throat, jaw, shoulder, one or both arms or back, especially between the shoulder blades.
  • The discomfort or pain may feel like burning, squeezing, heaviness, tightness, or pressure
  • Heart attack discomfort or pain may or may not be severe but it typically covers an area that is impossible to cover with one single hand.
  • Discomfort or pain that feels like indigestion but encompasses a large area (larger than one hand flattened)
  • In women, the discomfort/pain may be more vague

Sudden Shortness of Breath, or Sudden Difficulty Breathing

Nausea and Vomiting

  • Nausea and vomiting may occur in some individuals, usually around the time of discomfort/pain episode.

Sweating

  • Sweating often occurs at the time of the chest discomfort/pain. Cool, clammy skin is often a feature of profuse sweating. Profuse sweating that accompanies chest pain is a clear indication to seek medical attention immediately.

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Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (or “chronic pulmonary embolism”) is a dysfunction of the heart’s right ventricle that results from changes to the structure or function of the lungs. Changes to lung structure or function cause increased resistance to blood flow through the lungs which leads to high blood pressure in the lungs and called “pulmonary hypertension.”

What is Chronic Pulmonary Embolism?

The veins in our body carry blood to and from the heart. When blood is returned to the heart it also travels, through the pulmonary arteries, to the lungs where it receives oxygen. The blood then travels away from the heart, carrying the oxygen to other parts of the body.

Sometimes blood clots form within veins, usually in the lower body. Blood clots may happen because of a major physical illness, or be caused by a person being immobile. In some instances, genetic or inherited characteristics may also increase a person’s chances of forming blood clots. In a small percentage of patients, blood clots can break away from the vein walls. When this happens, they travel through the blood’s circulatory system until they reach the lungs, where the clots become trapped. This is called a pulmonary embolism and it affects the oxygen exchange in a person’s body, making it difficult for the lungs to function properly.

The heart’s right ventricle is not well suited to excessive mechanical demands, being adapted to pump blood through the normally low-resistance, high-capacity lung circulatory path. Symptoms of pulmonary embolism can include shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, and dizziness.

Pulmonary embolism is the second most common cause of cardiac death in North America after coronary artery disease. However, in the majority of individuals, if a patient withstands the initial pulmonary embolus, the blood clot will dissolve and normal circulation will return.

Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy (Surgery for Chronic Pulmonary Embolism)

In a small number of patients (0.5-2.5%), for unknown reasons a blood clot does not dissolve. This means the blood pressure remains elevated in the right side of the circulation, causing a persistent strain on the right side of the heart (right ventricle). This is called a chronic pulmonary embolism (or “chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension”).

Individuals with this disorder experience symptoms ranging from shortness of breath while moving around or exercising, to chest pain, fainting spells, and severe leg and abdominal swelling. The best treatment for this problem is a surgical procedure called a pulmonary thromboendarterectomy. The procedure involves open-heart surgery and uses a heart/lung machine to stop the patient’s circulation while the surgeon works to open the arteries and remove the chronic blood clot.

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Cardiomyopathy Definition – Inherited Disease

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