What happens in a heart attack?
A heart attack happens when the supply of blood to your heart is blocked, often by a clot. One of the most common and widely known signs of heart attack is chest pain, characterized by a feeling of pressure, tightness or squeezing in your chest. This sensation usually starts in the middle of your chest and can travel to other body parts, such as neck, jaw, ears, arms and/or wrists.
However, chest pain is not the only symptom of having a heart attack and sometimes people may experience milder and less obvious signs that may not immediately strike to them as a heart attack.
Case study of less obvious symptoms
John, a 62-year-old lorry driver, shared his experience of having a heart attack and not even realizing it, via Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS). It was while driving in Scotland that John felt “hot and sweaty for a few minutes.”
“It was a feeling I’ve never had before,” he said. He pulled over his lorry and took a break for 20 minutes. Soon he felt “completely fine” and began driving again.
It was a year later that a doctor told John that what he had experienced was in fact a heart attack.
Less common symptoms to note
According to CHSS, apart from feeling hot and sweaty, there are also other less obvious signs of heart attack that people should be aware of. Some of these include:
-Feeling or being sick
-Looking grey and pale
-Feeling generally unwell
-Feeling scared
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Other signs of heart attack
Other important signs of heart attack include the following:
-Pain in the neck, jaw, back, down the left arm or down both arms
-Restlessness or anxiety
-Shortness of breath
-Dizziness
Symptoms may vary in men and women
The common symptoms associated with heart attack may vary in men and women. Women are slightly less likely to feel chest pain compared to men and are more likely to experience the other above mentioned signs. Heart attack is a medical emergency and you should immediately call an ambulance if you or anyone around you experiences a heart attack.
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Risk factors
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of heart attacks. Some of the health and lifestyle factors that can put you at increased risk of health diseases include:
-Smoking
-Eating a high-fat diet
-Diabetes
-High cholesterol
-Hypertension
-Being overweight or obese