Cardiologists explain: these symptoms predict a heart attack. They even appear many months earlier

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Although the eyes of the world have been focused on the coronavirus pandemic for many months, we do not only suffer from COVID-19. Cardiovascular diseases are still very dangerous, and myocardial infarction is the leader in statistics. This one is sometimes the more dangerous that we are not able to recognize it in time. Meanwhile, the sooner we go to the doctor, the better our chances of recovering. We asked cardiologists what symptoms characteristic of a heart attack could predict it even a few months earlier.

1. The symptoms for looking at a heart attack may vary by gender
2. Typical retrosternal pain is short-lived and does not have to involve exercise
3. Retinal pain is often accompanied by sweating, mainly of the hands and feet, and shortness of breath
4. We do not associate symptoms such as abdominal pain and sleep problems with an impending heart attack
5. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Symptoms of a heart attack

– Myocardial infarction occurs suddenly and without warning in most patients – says Dr. Krzysztof Pujdak, a cardiologist at the Herford Clinic, to Medonet. – Despite this, warning symptoms appear in about half of the patients 24-48 hours before the actual infarction. Of course, common symptoms, such as classic angina, which may occur months before the onset of an acute infarction, cannot be forgotten. However, it is a rarity, because in terms of pathophysiology, acute coronary syndrome, which includes, among others, A heart attack is distinct from “chronic coronary syndrome”, once called stable coronary artery disease.

However, it happens that patients have symptoms of a heart attack earlier, even a few weeks earlier. Interestingly, men report different symptoms than women. Below we describe the most common ones.

Heart attack symptoms. Retrosternal pain

Typical coronary pain is a pressure or burning pain, most often radiating to the lower jaw. It can also radiate to the arms and back. The pain is brief, lasting a minute, two, sometimes five minutes. It also does not have to be associated with effort, it can occur at rest.

– If such pain begins to appear, you should always take into account the possibility that something is happening to the heart – says Dr. Jacek Piegza, MD, a cardiologist from the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze.

It can precede both the symptoms of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Patients most often report that they first noticed chest pain three weeks ago. It was a short-lived one-off episode. After a week, they had two or three similar episodes of pain, and now the pain is daily. If the symptoms are more frequent and last longer, it is a signal that you need to see a specialist.

1. This is how a sick heart warns us. These symptoms should be alarming

– Patients who have already had a heart attack and after a few years have similar retrosternal pains, seek help quickly – says Dr. Piegza. – They are already educated, they know that something is happening to their heart. It is different when someone has symptoms for the first time in their life. He has no knowledge about it and may hesitate to call for help for a long time.

According to doctors, this harbinger of a heart attack occurs in almost all men and only in 30 percent. women.

Heart attack symptoms. Feeling sweating

This symptom is usually associated with retrosternal pain.

– When collecting the interview, we also ask if the patient has sweated – says Dr. Piegza. – And we often hear that it is. Of course, excessive sweating may occur as an independent symptom, independent of retrosternal pain. However, if the feeling of sweating is associated with stinging or pressing retrosternal pain, this is already an alarm signal.

Sweating mainly affects the forehead, chest, hands and feet. It appears suddenly, at different times of the day and night. It is also not related to physical activity and the ambient temperature. Men often ignore this symptom, and women mistake it for hot flashes during the menopause.

1. What is your heart condition? A trivial test with stairs

Heart attack symptoms. Dyspnoea and fatigue

Feeling short of breath and being unable to take a deep breath can be an alternative to retrosternal pain, as not all patients have them. Not all women experience typical coronary pain.

– Patients say that in the course of activities that they have previously performed effortlessly, shortness of breath occurs suddenly, which occurs often, and the symptoms worsen over time – adds Dr. Piegza. – Other patients report that they get tired more. All these symptoms can be associated with the pre-infarction period.

In summary, if someone gets tired faster with less effort than before, is unable to perform simple activities, then they should check these symptoms.

According to cardiologists, dyspnea is usually associated with dizziness, it is more common in women than in men (it affects up to 70% of women), and may herald a heart attack up to six months before it occurs.

Heart attack symptoms. Irregular heartbeat

The patient feels palpitations, uneven, irregular heartbeat. There may also be an accelerated heartbeat in situations when the patient is not upset.

Such symptoms may appear in the course of coronary artery disease, when it becomes ischemic. If ischemia occurs several weeks before the infarction, arrhythmia may be one of the symptoms.

– The patient says that during the measurement of pressure, the device indicates arrhythmia or he himself feels that his heart is working unevenly, too fast, inadequate to the effort – says Dr. Piegza.

Heart palpitations are short, 1-2 minutes, and are more common in women. Disturbed heart rhythms can also appear as a result of exercise, but then the heart beats irregularly, unlike a healthy person.

Heart attack symptoms. Stomach pain

– In women, sometimes a heart attack can give the symptoms of an abdominal mask – explains Dr. Piegza. – Patients report abdominal pain and typical infarction changes are found only after the ECG examination.

It is said that abdominal pain occurs even in half of people who later experience a heart attack. It can manifest as a feeling of fullness, a rumbling in the abdomen, overflow of food, flatulence, nausea and stomach upset. This symptom is periodic and recurrent.

Heart attack symptoms. Sleep disturbance

They are rarer symptoms of a heart attack. People with acute coronary disease sleep poorly. They may have trouble falling asleep, wake up in the middle of the night, or wake up very early in the morning.

Up to half of the women who have had a heart attack have had trouble sleeping before. These disorders were usually associated with anxiety and distress.

Heart attack symptoms. Feelings of anxiety and fear

As a rule, it is accompanied by retrosternal pain. Most people with coronary pain signal a feeling of fear. If the pain comes from the spine, for example, the feeling of sudden dread does not arise. Although it is most often accompanied by pain, it can also occur on its own.

Heart attack symptoms. Hair loss

Hair loss, especially on the top of the head, is one of the little-known early symptoms of a heart attack. It appears in men over 50, but also in women.

– Sudden pressure surges in patients with previously treated arterial hypertension may also occur in the pre-infarction period – adds Dr. Piegza.

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