Is It A Heart Attack
A heart attack happens when the muscles in your heart are starved of oxygen due to a problem with your blood circulation, such as a clot, for example. Pain in the left arm is the best known symptom of a heart attack. When someone is having a heart attack, this pain comes on suddenly, gets worse with exertion and eases off at rest, and is generally accompanied by other symptoms. These might include chest pain or a burning or tightening sensation in the chest, numbness or pain in the arm, back, neck, stomach, or jaw, and nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness or fatigue. If you experience any of these symptoms together, you should call for urgent medical assistance as you could be having a heart attack.
Discomfort That Lessens With Exercise
If a sharp pain strikes your chest but improves as you move around a bit well, you may be looking at a case of heartburn or some other gastrointestinal issue.
An estimated 15 million Americans a day experience heartburn, which brings an uncomfortable burning feeling in your chest and a sour feeling in your throat. An over-the-counter antacid can help bring some relief.
Jaw Neck Or Back Pain
Jaw, neck or back pain may also serve as heart attack warning signs. While both men and women may experience pain in these areas ahead of a heart attack, research suggests women experience jaw and back pain, specifically, more frequently than men.
While the above symptoms are not always indications of heart attacks and may have other underlying causes, it is critical that you seek medical care immediately in the event that you or someone else starts exhibiting any of them. Calling 911 may be the fastest and most effective method of receiving prompt care.
If you are having a heart attack, every minute matters. Having emergency responders come to you, rather than you transporting yourself to the hospital, means medical professionals can begin treating you that much faster, which may ultimately mean the difference between life and death.
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The Three Most Common Causes Of Noncardiac Chest Pain
What Is Chest Pain
When medical professionals talk about chest pain, they’re talking about the pain and discomfort that can be an early sign of heart attack. There are many ways to describe this pain, including tightness or unusual pressure in the center of the chest.
While pain can radiate to the shoulders, arms, neck, jaw or back, people often mistake this pain for indigestion, which can be dangerous.
Because heart attack symptoms in women can be so subtle, heart attacks in women frequently go unrecognized. Unfortunately, treatment is sought long after symptoms are initially felt.
If you’re experiencing the heart attack symptoms listed here, call 911 immediately.
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No : Worst Headache Of Your Life
Get medical attention immediately. If you have a cold, it could be a sinus headache, says Sandra Fryhofer, MD, spokeswoman for the American College of Physicians. But you could have a brain hemorrhage or brain tumor. With any pain, unless youre sure of what caused it, get it checked out.
Sharon Brangman, MD, spokeswoman for the American Geriatrics Society, tells WebMD that when someone says they have the worst headache of their life, what we learned in medical training was that was a classic sign of a brainaneurysm. Go immediately to the ER.
What Are The Risk Factors For Heart Attack
Several health conditions, your lifestyle, and your age and family history can increase your risk for heart disease and heart attack. These are called risk factors. About half of all Americans have at least one of the three key risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and smoking.2
Some risk factors cannot be controlled, such as your age or family history. But you can take steps to lower your risk by changing the factors you can control.
Learn more about risk factors for heart disease and heart attack.
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When You See Your Doctor:
- Bring a list of your symptoms and when they are occurring.
- Let them know about any related family history.
- Talk about stress or anything going on in your life that might contribute to a problem.
Your doctor likely willlisten to your symptoms and check your pulse and blood pressure. They may orderblood work, which will show whether your heart is damaged.
They also may use an electrocardiogram to tell whether the electrical activity of your heart is normal, or an echocardiogram to view images of the heart to see if damage has occurred.
All this is important inidentifying any problems and taking steps to intervene before a possible heartattack.
Is Neck Pain A Sign Of A Heart Attack: A Comprehensive Guide
In this article, Is Neck Pain a Sign of a Heart Attack: A Comprehensive Guide we are going to discuss heart attack, signs that will say youre having a heart attack, symptoms of having a mild or massive heart attack, states during a heart attack in different body parts. What is the current medication to a heart patient and what should you do if you think youre having a heart attack?
Then we will talk about neck pain, what causes neck pain, what are the risk factors of neck pain and the things about neck pain that is might be related to a heart attack.
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Pain In Right Shoulder And Arm Heart Attack
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Act Fast To Save Your Life
If you think you could be having heart attack symptoms, dont ignore your concerns. You should never feel embarrassed to call for help. Even if youre not sure that youre experiencing a heart attack, you should call 9-1-1.
Acting fast can save your life and remember â an ambulance is the safest way to get to the hospital. First responders can check on your vitals and start life-saving treatment right away. Furthermore, people arriving by ambulance often get faster treatment at the hospital. Every minute matters when it comes to getting treatment for myocardial infarction.
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Why Are Arm Pain And Heart Attack Connected
Most often a heart attack occurs when a obstructs blood flow into your heart muscle . This commonly causes a cramping or squeezing pain in the center or right side of your chest. Heart attack symptoms are extremely variable, but sometimes the pain in your chest extends to one or both shoulders and arms.
In addition to shoulder and , you may also have , aching or discomfort in other areas of your upper body, such as your neck, jaw or back, without any chest pain. This happens more commonly in women than in men.
Why Does Arm Pain Occur During A Heart Attack
Aches and pain in various parts of the body become more common and frequent as a person grows older. So, is the likelihood of having a heart attack. These may appear to be unrelated issues one a minor problem and the other very serious.
However, there is one place where the pain the possibility of a heart attack converge pain in the arm and particularly in the left arm. Any pain in this limb could be the sign of a coronary event.
What is a Heart Attack?
A heart attack is defined as damage to a part of the heart muscle to the extent that its functioning is compromised. The most common cause of a heart attack it is the build up of cholesterol and fatty deposit in the walls of the coronary arteries. This restricts the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart and affects its functioning. A piece of the deposit could break away front the artery wall and block the flow of blood which could also result in a heart attack.
Why Arm Pain?
The association between a heart attack and arm pain may appear to be strange since the arm has not been injured. The reason for the pain in the arm is that the nerves that carry signals from the heart to the brain and those that do the same thing for the arm both send their signals to the same brain cells. Because of this, the brain may get confused about the source of the signal and this can often result in the pain from a heart attack being felt as pain in the arm with no sensation of pain in the chest. This is what is known as referred pain.
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Why Your Arm Hurts
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Heart Attack
Arm or shoulder pain can be a sign, especially if you also have pain or pressure in the center of your chest and shortness of breath. A heart attack can be sudden, but sometimes its gradual. The feeling might last a few minutes, or stop and return. Your stomach, jaw, back, or neck also might hurt. You could also get sick to your stomach, lightheaded, and clammy with sweat. Call 911 if you notice these symptoms.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Nine tendons and a nerve pass through a tube called the carpal tunnel that goes from your forearm to your palm. Repeated movements, like texting, typing, or video gaming, can inflame the tube and push on the nerve. This could cause pain, especially in your forearm. You might also notice numbness, tingling, and a weaker grip.
Tendinitis
Making a motion over and over again, like when you turn a screwdriver, pull weeds, or swing a hammer, can create tiny tears in the tendons that join your muscles to the bones in your arms. Your arm might feel weak and hurt or burn, especially when you use it. Half of the people who play racquet sports will get a form of tendinitis called tennis elbow at some point because of the constant swinging.
Sprain
A fall or a hit can tear a ligament, the tissue that connects the bones within a joint. This might happen at your wrist, elbow, or shoulder. It may be swollen, bruised, and hard to use. Treat it with RICE for the first 2 days:
Strain
Dislocation
Stress Fractures
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Weve all seen the movie scenes where a man gasps, clutches his chest and falls to the ground. In reality, a heart attack victim could easily be a woman, and the scene may not be that dramatic.
Although men and women can experience chest pressure that feels like an elephant sitting across the chest, women can experience a heart attack without chest pressure, said Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director for the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYUs Langone Medical Center and an American Heart Association volunteer. Instead they may experience shortness of breath, pressure or pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen, dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting, upper back pressure or extreme fatigue.
Even when the signs are subtle, the consequences can be deadly, especially if the victim doesnt get help right away.
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Left Arm Pain: Symptoms Causes And Treatment
Pain in the arms is a common complaint. We use our arms a great deal in everyday life, and the muscles, joints and tendons inside them can all be the cause of this pain. However, arm pain is not always caused by a problem with the arm itself, and may come from elsewhere in the body. In this case, it could be a sign of a more serious underlying condition. If you feel pain in your left arm in particular, it is important to be vigilant because this can be one of the symptoms of a heart attack. It is therefore important to learn to recognise the symptoms in order to tell if a pain in your arm is a cause for concern, and to know when you should seek urgent medical assistance.
Have You Been Trying To Convince Yourself That Your Symptom Pair Of A Racing Heart And Arm Pain Is Anxiety Rather Than A Heart Problem
Pain in the arm has many potential causes, and one is a heart problem. This can be either a heart attack or angina.
Angina is a syndrome caused by diseased coronary arteries. The two most common symptoms are chest pain/pressure and shortness of breath.
However, an attack of angina can also cause arm and jaw pain, even nausea. Angina pectoris is not a heart attack its a symptom group of coronary artery disease.
Sudden chest pain with pain shooting down the left arm is highly suspicious for a heart attack.
But what if theres no chest pain and all you have is a racing heart a fast pulse in the absence of exertion or fear and with it is a strange ache in your arm?
It would be nice to know that anxiety can easily explain this away. But it just isnt like that.
If the heart races for any reason, usually as a result exercise, this is normally unassociated with pains in any location, says Morton Tavel, MD, Clinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, and author of Health Tips, Myths and Tricks: A Physicians Advice.
The presence of arm pain under such circumstances suggests that there may be obstruction in one or more arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, with the pains resulting from the increased circulatory requirements that cannot be met by the rapidly beating heart, explains Dr. Tavel.
This type of discomfort always requires professional evaluation.
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Neck Pain Or Back Pain
Neck and back pain are common ailments after injury and with arthritis. However, neck and back pain coupled with pain spreading down both arms can signal a myocardial infarction. Again, this can occur with or without chest pain. If you experience neck and back pain for no reason and don’t have a history of injury or arthritis, it’s still better to have it checked out, especially if other symptoms are involved.
Signs Of Heart Attack That You Shouldnt Ignore
About every 40 seconds, someone has a heart attack in the US. Most people imagine that having a heart attack is always intense. But the truth is that sometimes you may be unsure if your are suffering from a heart attack because the signs can be subtle and different from what you may typically think of.
This makes heart attacks very dangerous. In fact, 1 in 5 heart attacks goes unnoticed, meaning the heart muscle is damaged due to lack of blood supply but the person is not aware of that this has occurred.
So what are the signs of a heart attack both subtle and not-so-subtle? Here are 4 signs of heart attack to be on the lookout for:
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Signs Of A Heart Attack Feet
Anxiety Elevates Heart Rate
Anxiety, in itself, can cause the heart to race, and, if the arteries are obstructed as noted above, this could also cause arm pain by the same mechanism, says Dr. Tavel.
Anxiety, in the absence of a cardiac disorder, is seldom a cause of arm pain.
Anxiety in the absence of obstructed cardiac blood flow may also rarely produce pains in virtually any location for uncertain reasons. Such pains are usually more widespread and not limited to a single limb.
So if youve been having a fast heartbeat, feelings of anxiety and a concurrent unexplained aching in your arm you need to get your ticker checked.
Look at this for what it is: Youre trying to convince yourself that anxiety causes pain in one arm. Come on.
This symptom could have numerous causes including a muscle problem, but do you really believe that anxiety can cause pain in only one arm?
And if your heart rate is above 100 in the absence of exercise or emotional stress, this is all the more reason to see your doctor.
Dr. Tavels medical research includes over 125 publications, editorials and book reviews in peer-reviewed national medical journals. He was formerly director of the cardiac rehabilitation program at St. Vincent Hospital in Indiana. mortontavel.com
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. Shes also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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