Community Education
Chest Pain / Heart Attack Symptoms
What is a heart attack (myocardial infarction or MI)?
A heart attack, or myocardial infarction, occurs when one of more regions of the heart muscle experience a severe or prolonged decrease in oxygen supply caused by blocked blood flow to the heart muscle.
The blockage is often a result of atherosclerosis – a buildup of plaque, known as cholesterol, other fatty substances, and a blood clot. Plaque inhibits and obstructs the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart, thus reducing the flow to the rest of the body.
If the blood and oxygen supply is cut off severely or for a long period of time, muscle cells of the heart suffer severe and devastating damage and die. The result is damage or death to the area of the heart that became affected by reduced blood supply.
What are the risk factors for heart attack?
There are two types of risk factors for heart attack, including the following:
| Inherited (or genetic): | Acquired: |
| Inherited or genetic risk factors are risk factors you are born with that cannot be changed, but can be improved with medical management and lifestyle changes. | Acquired risk factors are caused by activities that we choose to include in our lives that can be managed through lifestyle changes and clinical care. |
Who is most at risk – inherited (genetic) factors?
- Persons with inherited hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Persons with inherited low levels of HDL (high-density lipoproteins), triglycerides, or high levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) blood cholesterol
- Persons with a family history of heart disease (especially with onset before age 55)
- Aging men and women
- Persons with type 1 diabetes
- Women, after the onset of menopause (generally, men are at risk at an earlier age than women, but after the onset of menopause, women are equally at risk)
Who is most at risk – acquired risk factors?
- Persons with acquired hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Persons with acquired low levels of HDL (high-density lipoproteins), triglycerides, or high levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) blood cholesterol
- Cigarette smokers
- People who are under a lot of stress
- People who drink too much alcohol
- Individuals who lead a sedentary lifestyle
- Persons overweight by 30 percent or more
- Persons who eat a diet high in saturated fat
- Persons with Type II diabetes
A heart attack can happen to anyone – it is only when we take the time to learn which of the risk factors apply to us, specifically, can we then take steps to eliminate or reduce them.
Managing heart attack risk factors:
Managing your risks for a heart attack begins with:
- Examining which of the risk factors apply to you, and then taking steps to eliminate or reduce them.
- Becoming aware of conditions like hypertension or abnormal cholesterol levels, which may be “silent killers.”
- Modifying risk factors that are acquired (not inherited) through lifestyle changes. Consult your physician as the first step in starting right away to make these changes.
- Consulting your physician soon to determine if you have risk factors that are genetic or inherited and cannot be changed, but can be managed medically and through lifestyle changes.
What are the warning signs of a heart attack?
The following are the most common symptoms of a heart attack. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
Indigestion, also known as upset stomach or dyspepsia, is a painful or burning feeling in the upper abdomen that may be accompanied by nausea; abdominal bloating; belching; vomiting; severe pain in the upper right abdomen; discomfort unrelated to eating; or indigestion accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, or pain radiating to the jaw, neck, or arm.
The symptoms of indigestion may resemble other medical conditions, such as chest pain. Always consult your physician for a diagnosis.
- Severe pressure, fullness, squeezing, pain and/or discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes
- Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulders, neck, arms, or jaw
- Chest pain that increases in intensity
- Chest pain that is not relieved by rest or by taking cardiac prescription medication
- Chest pain that occurs with any/all of the following (additional) symptoms:
- Sweating, cool, clammy skin, and/or paleness
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness or fainting
- Unexplained weakness or fatigue
- Rapid or irregular pulse
Although chest pain is the key warning sign of a heart attack, it may be confused with indigestion, pleurisy, pneumonia, or other disorders.
The symptoms of a heart attack may resemble other medical conditions or problems. Always consult your physician for a diagnosis.
Responding to heart attack warning signs:
If you or someone you know exhibits any of the above warning signs, act immediately. Call 911, or your local emergency number.
Treatment for a heart attack:
The goal of treatment for a heart attack is to relieve pain, preserve the heart muscle function, and prevent death.
Treatment in the emergency department may include:
- Intravenous therapy
- Continuous monitoring of the heart and vital signs
- Oxygen therapy (to improve oxygenation to the damaged heart muscle)
- Pain medication (by decreasing pain, the workload of the heart decreases, thus the oxygen demand of the heart decreases)
- Cardiac medication (to promote blood flow to the heart, prevent blood clotting, improve the blood supply, prevent arrhythmias, and decrease heart rate and blood pressure)
- Thrombolytic therapy (intravenous infusion of a medication which dissolves the blockage, thus restoring blood flow)
Once the condition has been diagnosed and the patient stabilized, additional procedures to restore coronary blood flow may be utilized, including the following:
- Coronary angioplasty – With this procedure, a catheter is used to create a larger opening in the vessel to increase blood flow. Although angioplasty is performed in other blood vessels, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) refers to angioplasty in the coronary arteries to permit more blood flow into the heart. There are several types of PTCA procedures, including the following:
- Balloon angioplasty – a small balloon is inflated inside the blocked artery to open the blocked area.
- Atherectomy – the blocked area inside the artery is “shaved” away by a tiny device on the end of a catheter.
- Laser angioplasty – a laser used to “vaporize” the blockage in the artery.
- Coronary artery stent – a tiny coil is expanded inside the blocked artery to open the blocked area and is left in place to keep the artery open.
- Coronary artery bypass – Most commonly referred to as simply “bypass surgery,” this surgery is often performed in people who have angina (chest pain) and coronary artery disease (where plaque has built up in the arteries). During the surgery, a bypass is created by grafting a piece of a vein above and below the blocked area of a coronary artery, enabling blood to flow around the obstruction. Veins are usually taken from the leg, but arteries from the chest may also be used to create a bypass graft.