Chest pain: is it a heart attack?

In December, I posted a piece on what pains not to ignore. I covered it again in February as part of Heart Month: The shooting pain in your heart might not be Cupid’s arrow. Of course, I’m talking about chest pain.

With summer’s return, more people will be active outside, doing activities they haven’t done for several months – be they sports or working outside. They may also be partying more, particularly while on vacation. The combination of increased activity, heat, and partying can increase your risk of having a heart attack, so it’s particularly important that you recognize the signs and symptoms for both you and for those around you.

As part of the Health & Wellness channel Celebrity Week, I did a search on celebrities to see how they are faring. That’s when I found that, according to People Magazine, Kelsey Grammer (Frasier and Cheers fame) had suffered a mild heart attack.

Luckily, someone recognized that something was wrong. Would you be able to?

According to the MayoClinic.com, the signs and symptoms of a heart attack include:

Chest discomfort or pain
- a tight ache, pressure, fullness or squeezing in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes. This discomfort may come and go.

Upper body pain
- pain or discomfort may spread beyond chest to shoulders, arms, back, neck, teeth or jaw.

- may be upper body pain with no chest discomfort.

Stomach pain
- pain may extend downward into the abdominal area and may feel like heartburn.

Shortness of breath
- shortness of breath may start before chest discomfort starts.

Anxiety
- many who have a heart attack feel a sense of doom or panicky for no apparent reason.

Lightheadedness
- dizziness or feeling of passing out.

Sweating
- cold, clammy skin.

Nausea and vomiting

If you feel this way, don’t wait:

CALL 9-1-1 or your local emergency service.

Image: Newscom

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