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Know The Symptoms Of A Heart Attack
Anne Burgess had been a keen runner, wasn't overweight and ate a balanced diet with lots of fruit and vegetables. But in 2017, at the age of 57, the retired school teacher who lives in south Birmingham had a heart attack.
"I woke up at half past three in the morning and I just thought what on earth was that. It was just this central chest pain that felt like a huge pressure in the centre of my chest radiating out through my back," she says.
"I just lay there thinking 'Is it going to go away?' and it didn't. The pain was going up my arm and into my neck, I was feeling hot and sweaty and I couldn't breathe properly. I woke my husband and said, I'm really not right and described what I was feeling.
"I got up to try and get dressed for him to take me to A&E and said I can't breathe properly, please call an ambulance, and they came very quickly and did an ECG. They wouldn't let me walk anywhere, they carried me down the stairs, and we were blue-lighted to the hospital."
Anne was kept at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham for a couple of days. After she was discharged the medical team overseeing her care followed up with MRI scans and then an appointment with the consultant who confirmed it was a heart attack, involving a more minor artery.
Heart and circulatory disease, also known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), causes a quarter of all deaths in the UK. It is the largest cause of premature mortality in deprived areas.
There are over 80,000 hospital admissions in England each year for heart attacks, and at least 7 out of 10 people survive. But recognising the symptoms as soon as possible is vital, since the proportion of people who survive can be increased to over 9 out of 10 (94 per cent) for those who reach hospital and receive appropriate treatment.
Roy Gould, 69, is a TV director and lives near Norwich. He only survived his heart attack in 2017 after calling for an ambulance.
"I cooked a late Sunday lunch which I didn't enjoy and went to bed early with what I thought was indigestion. I had a tightness in my upper chest which I put down to straining myself because I'd been belching a lot," he says.
"But I woke about 2am and my wife asked if I was alright and I said 'I've got terrible indigestion'. Half an hour later, I sat up and told her, 'Get the phone, I think I'm having a heart attack'. I don't know why, but I just knew and I knew I had to have an ambulance.
"My chest felt like it was being crushed and I had a dreadful pain between the shoulder blades – like I was being stabbed - although nothing down my arms."
Roy Gould, 69, is a TV director and lives near Norwich with his wife Sarah. He only survived his heart attack in 2017 after calling for an ambulance
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He called 999 and when the ambulance arrived, they gave him an ECG before transferring him to hospital.
"At the time I was told it was a minor heart attack in a major artery but about three months later I went back to the consultant for a sign off and was shown pictures of a blockage – I had half a millimetre left in one artery. It wasn't minor! I think I only survived because I was in that ambulance when I had a major heart attack. I was very lucky."
While the most common symptom is chest pain, symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people may have other symptoms such as shortness of breath, feeling or being sick and back or jaw pain without any chest pain.
Whilst chest pain can be severe some people only experience moderate discomfort/heaviness/tightness. Some people may only experience minor pain, similar to indigestion. Chest pain can also manifest as tightness or a squeezing across the chest, rather than pain.
Men are more likely to recognise the symptoms of a heart attack, and women may dismiss symptoms. But a woman's risk of a heart attack increases after the menopause, so it's really important to take these symptoms seriously.
Despite heart attacks more frequently affecting men, 35,000 women are admitted to hospital following a heart attack each year in the UK – an average of 98 women per day, or four per hour.
The risk of having a heart attack is also increased by smoking, a high fat diet, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and being overweight or obese.
Making healthy diet and lifestyle choices, taking up routine blood pressure and cholesterol checks and maintaining a healthy weight are among the preventative measures that can be taken.
Peak incidence of heart attacks is in the morning, and there is a 40 per cent higher risk between 6am and noon.
If in doubt, remember these key rules:
Dr Dawn Adamson, cardiologist and National Specialty Advisor for Heart Disease, NHS England, says: "Often people don't realise they're having a heart attack, either because they don't recognise the early signs, or because they don't consider them severe enough to trouble the NHS.
"But make no mistake, a heart attack is a medical emergency, and it's never too early to call 999 and describe your symptoms."
For more information, visit nhs.Uk/heartattack
Can High Blood Pressure Cause Heart Attacks?
Hypertension can raise the risk of severe health problems, including heart attacks and stroke. You can reduce those risks by managing your blood pressure and taking heart-healthy steps.
A heart attack is usually the result of plaque buildup in the coronary arteries, which narrows those blood vessels and makes it more likely for blood clots to form. High blood pressure can weaken and damage these arteries, allowing plaque to build up and reduce the steady flow of blood to the heart.
This can, in turn, lead to heart attacks.
You can lower your risk of narrowed arteries by keeping your blood pressure and cholesterol levels in healthy ranges. Managing high blood pressure usually requires a combination of healthy lifestyle behaviors and medications.
But a heart attack is still possible even while managing your blood pressure. That means it's vital to recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and know what to do if you suspect you're having a heart attack.
Your blood pressure is a measurement of the force of circulating blood against the inside walls of your arteries. Blood pressure has two components:
Systolic and diastolic pressures are measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg)
Even when mild, hypertension can begin to weaken the coronary arteries, setting the stage for atherosclerosis and a heart attack. When high blood pressure is more severe, so too is the damage that can occur.
Any decrease you can achieve in moving your high blood pressure down to a natural level will help.
A 2022 study suggests that reducing blood pressure of 161/84 mmHg to 144/78 mm Hg reduced the risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack, by 23%.
High blood pressure can be a hereditary condition. A 2017 study suggests that as many as 40-50% of high blood pressure cases in the United States are people who inherited a predisposition for hypertension.
Other factors are also well-established causes of high blood pressure. Among them are:
Occasional spikes in blood pressure, brought on by stress, exercise, or some medications, are unlikely to cause coronary artery damage. However, if high blood pressure becomes chronic and goes untreated for months or years, the risk for atherosclerosis and other complications grows significantly.
The timetable for hypertensive heart disease to develop is highly individualized, as several factors can contribute to a person's heart attack risk. Older adults, who already face an elevated risk of heart attack, may be able to withstand fewer years of uncontrolled high blood pressure than younger people.
The severity of the high blood pressure is also a major factor in determining the timeline for heart damage.
A 2019 study suggests that for people with an average systolic pressure of about 160 mmHg, the heart attack or stroke risk within 8 years was about 4.8%. The 8-year heart attack or stroke risk for people with a systolic average of 136 mmHg was 1.9%.
The bottom line is that the sooner you can get your blood pressure down to a healthy range or close to it, the lower your risk of atherosclerosis and heart attack.
Lowering your blood pressure can sometimes be done through healthy lifestyle behaviors only, though many people also need medications to manage their blood pressure.
Some of the most significant lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and reduce your heart attack risk include:
Your doctor may also prescribe one or more antihypertensive medications to help lower your blood pressure.
Managing high blood pressure reduces your risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and other serious health problems. Managing high cholesterol is also essential in lowering the risk of atherosclerosis, often the precursor to a heart attack.
Talk with your doctor about the steps to manage your blood pressure.
Signs Of A Heart Attack You Get A Month Before Having One
A heart attack is a serious medical emergency that needs immediate medical attention - but there are symptoms and warning signs you can look out for to help prevent one.
If you suffer a heart attack, medically known as a myocardial infarction, it can be fatal.
It happens when the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot, and the lack of blood to the heart may seriously damage the heart muscle, which is life-threatening.
READ MORE: Holidaymaker will never fly from Bristol Airport again because of 'trap'
Below are eight warning signs to look out for that may appear a month before a heart attack from Brightside.
If you are worried about symptoms that could be a heart attack, speak to your GP or phone the NHS on 111 to speak to healthcare professionals about an urgent medical concern. If you are suffering a medical emergency, dial 999 immediately.
FatigueFatigue affects 70 per cent of women, and if it is not something you normally suffer with, it can be one of the main symptoms that indicates an impending heart attack.
Whilst men have reported this symptom, it is most likely to affect women, according to Brightside.
Fatigue can be described as extreme tiredness, lack of energy and motivation, both physically and mentally, and it increases by the end of the day.
It can make simple tasks such as making a bed or showering exhausting.
Abdominal painAbdominal pain is diagnosed in 50 per cent of cases of a heart attack.
Empty or full stomach nausea, feeling bloated or having an upset stomach are the most common symptoms, and are likely to occur in both men and women.
Abdominal pains before a heart attack have an episodic nature, easing and then returning for short periods of time. Physical tension might worsen upset stomach pains.
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InsomniaInsomnia affects 50 per cent of women and can also include a high level of anxiety or absentmindedness.
Symptoms include difficulty initiating sleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, and early-morning awakening.
Shortness of breathThis symptom is diagnosed in 40 per cent of cases and is a strong feeling of being unable to draw a deep breath.
It often occurs among both men and women for up to 6 months prior to having a heart attack. It's usually a warning sign of a medical condition.
Hair lossHair loss as a symptom of a heart problem affects men over 50.
It can be considered a visible indicator of heart disease, and baldness can also be associated with an increased level of the hormone cortisol.
Irregular heartbeatThis symptom occurs with no influence of external factors.
Skipped beats or arrhythmias are often accompanied by a panic attack and anxiety, especially among women.
It appears unexpectedly and reveals itself differently: arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) or tachycardia (increased heart rate).
Physical exercises might give an extra stimulus to the increase of heart rate, especially in cases with atherosclerosis disease.
Some people report that the irregular heartbeat lasts for 1-2 minutes. If it doesn't fade you may feel dizziness or extreme fatigue.
If you are suffering this symptom speak to a GP immediately or call 111.
Excessive sweatingUnusual or excessive sweating is an early warning sign of a heart attack.
It might occur at any time of the day or night. This symptom affects women more often and is usually confused with the hot flashes or night sweats typical of menopause.
It is described as flu-like symptoms, clammy skin, or sweatiness occurring regardless of air temperature or physical exertion. Sweating seems to be more excessive at night; the bedsheets might be damp by morning.
Chest painMen and women experience chest pains in different intensities and forms.
In men, this symptom refers to the most important early signs of an impending heart attack that should not be ignored. On the other hand, it affects only 30 per cent of women.
Chest pain can expand to uncomfortable sensations in one or both arms (more often the left one), the lower jaw, neck, shoulders, or stomach.
It may have a permanent or temporary character.
If you are suffering this symptom, speak to your GP immediately or call 111 for advice.
For more information, visit Brightside, here.
What the NHS adviseIf you think you, or someone you are with, is suffering from a heart attack, after dialling 999 it may help to chew and then swallow a tablet of aspirin - as long as the person having the suspected heart attack is not allergic to the tablet.
The aspirin helps to thin the blood and reduce the risk of a heart attack.
Read about treating heart attacks here.
Symptoms of a heart attack can include:
It's important to stress that not everyone experiences severe chest pain; the pain can often be mild and mistaken for indigestion.
It's the combination of symptoms that's important in determining whether a person is having a heart attack, and not the severity of chest pain.
Read about the symptoms of a heart attack.
Preventing a heart attackThere are five main steps you can take to reduce your risk of having a heart attack (or having another heart attack):
Read about how to prevent a heart attack.
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