Heart Attack Symptoms You Are Most Likely to Ignore

Yahoo ^ | 19 Jan 2012 | Melanie Haiken

[shove_it]

Pay Attention to Your Ticker

Heart attacks don't always strike out of the blue -- there are many symptoms we can watch for in the days and weeks leading up to an attack. But the symptoms may not be the ones we expect. And they can be different in men and women, and different still in older adults. Last year, for example, a landmark study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Institute found that 95 percent of women who'd had heart attacks reported experiencing symptoms in the weeks and months before the attack -- but the symptoms weren’t the expected chest pain, so they went unrecognized.

Don't let that happen to you. Here are 10 heart symptoms you're likely to ignore -- and shouldn't.

[...]

[shove_it]

I sure wish this article was published around Thanksgiving time. I had a cold which degenerated into what I thought was bronchitis with symptoms of shortness of breath, insomnia and racing heart. Never suspecting a heart problem, I toughed it out over the holiday then made it into the local VA clinic. To make a long story short, they sent me to the hospital in an ambulance with a diagnosis of arterial fibrillation (A Fib) where I stayed for a week and a half.

It's not a heart attack but I'm going to need a pace maker implanted if the drugs I'm now taking don't correct my current low blood pressure condition.

Be patient, this article takes a while to load.

[JimSEA]

Thanks for posting.

[al baby]

I lost a client to a massive MI just this last friday

[HiTech RedNeck]

Atrial (not arterial) fibrillation is a condition that when long standing can bring on embolisms from blood clots that form in the partially stagnant heart atria, but by itself is mostly a nuisance condition that feels uncomfortable and causes weakness. I’ve suffered it myself from time to time since childhood and the episodes almost always go away in hours if not minutes. These are not heart attacks, you do not d

[Yo-Yo]

Last September I was working in the yard, trimming trees with a tree trimmer. I couldn't hold the pole for more than 5 minutes without losing my breath to the point that I had to lay down. I knew something wasn't right, but I never had the severe chest pain traditionally associated with a heart attack.

I went to my doctor, got into the hospital a few days later for a stress test, and was literally wheeled from the treadmill to the operating room for a heart cath and eventually a stent. I had a 95% blockage in my LAD, the classic “Widow Maker.”

Had I ignored it, which I easily could have, I might not be here today.

[Huskrrrr]

Best post today. Thanks!!

[HiTech RedNeck]

Ahem, die. (Scared you didn’t I.)

As for symptoms of real cardiac conditions creeping up slowly, perhaps periodic checkups and general good health habits are as good as anything because many harmless conditions can mimic these symptoms, and if you don’t die of a heart attack you might die of excessive worry.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I am glad the physicians caught it in time to treat.

Pulmonary embolism can also bring about such uncharacteristic sudden breathlessness and weakness, which in any event would be a good reason to see a doctor promptly.

[shove_it]

Thanks for the correction.

[shove_it]

Sure glad you’re still among us, Yo-Yo.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

Narcotics and antibiotics can cause IBS and indigestion symptoms.A good probiotic helps.I’ve known eople that felt silly for going to the ER because of severe indigestion (pain in the shoulder,rapid heart,burping.Gas pain can be awful.I also know a woman that thought she was having indigestion and was dead by 6PM that night.So listen to your gut and go to the ER no one should feel silly when it is just gas.They should just feel relieved.

[shove_it]

Well, it did scare the bejeezers outa me and I'm here to tell you my lifestyle has changed - no more booze, not big diet changes but more careful attention to the back labels on food and more exercise.

[panaxanax]

Good info. Thanks for posting.

Hope I make it through the night!

[southern rock]

Hey baby, come to southern rock. No "disfunction" here!

[shove_it]

Atta boy!

[HiTech RedNeck]

I wasn’t aware that alcohol could worsen AF or make an episode more likely, but again I have never consumed enough at one time to get even to what would be legally too drunk to drive. One small glass of wine, quite enough for me thank you very much.

The first time it happens it sure feels like a disaster is happening in your chest. But there is little or nothing about it that can lead to a true heart attack.

[null and void]

uh. tap. tap. tap. you still with us?

[shove_it]

The docs said no booze, controlled vitamin K (green veggies)and low sodium. They have me on coumadin plus a bunch of other drugs. My VA clinic has a coumadin clinic where I have to go regularly for blood tests and evaluation of the blood pressure and weight log I have to record daily.

I'm scheduled for another echo-cardiogram in two weeks. The one they took in the hospital revealed an enlarged weak heart but no damage.

[myprecious]

I am a cardiac nurse. The most common warnings I hear are sudden exhaustion and shortness of breath. I hear “ I was so tired I had to sit down before I could make up the other side of the bed” from women. When the heart arteries are blocked, there is just not enough oxygen to spare, making the patient tired. The heart muscles are starving and crying out for more blood flow.
Next the muscles are being damaged causing pain. There is usually minor pain like heart burn or jaw pain. Just like your leg muscles burn when you run too much, the cardiac muscles ache as they are injured. If these symptoms are recognized, the real “heart attack” can be prevented by opening up the flow.
If these signs are ignored, there may be the classic “big one” pain that everyone knows by this time - heart tissue is dying Heart muscle can heal unless it is dead from a MI. That section of heart cannot contract or carry the electrical signal for other tissue to contract. It will not heal. It will not grow back. The remaining muscle may be able to compensate, but that tissue is gone.
Early detection and intervention can prevent many heart attacks. Getting a cath with stents is better than open heart surgery, and far better than your family burying you. A false alarm is better than missed alarm.

[shove_it]

Thanks for your comments. I had some wonderful nurses during my hospital stay. It’s been over 60 years since my prior confinement.