The pain of a heart attack can stop you in your tracks. It can feel as if someone has tied a belt around your chest and is pulling it tighter and tighter until your breath is gone. People have described the pain as crushing, tightening, constricting and pressing.
Your heart is a muscle and needs oxygen to keep working properly. During a heart attack, blood and oxygen can't get through to your heart. This causes pain around your heart.
You may have warning signs a few days before you have a heart attack. You may have chest pain that is uncomfortable but not severe. You might have a pain that feels like your chest is being crushed and you can't get enough air. Or if you have a type of chest pain called angina, the pain might keep getting worse. Angina is usually caused by hardening of the arteries (what doctors call atherosclerosis). It comes on when not enough blood is getting to your heart.
During a heart attack, you'll usually have pain in the center of your chest. It often spreads down one arm, usually the left. Sometimes the pain is in both arms. Sometimes it spreads up into your jaw. The pain doesn't go away if you rest. It doesn't disappear if you take painkillers or medication prescribed for a type of chest pain called angina. The pain usually lasts half an hour or more. But if you think you're having a heart attack, don't wait to get help.
Doctors call this kind of chest pain "typical" or "classic." But for many people, heart attack pain is mild. Some people have no pain at all. If you're a woman, are older or have diabetes, you're less likely to have typical chest pain.1
To learn more about how to figure out what is causing your pain, see How to tell the difference between a heart attack and other pain.
 |
This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved. |
