| Hearth:Heart attack symptoms you are likely to ignore | Send to a friend |
| Saturday, 21 January 2012 19:24 |
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By Sound Living Reporter Heart attacks don’t always strike out of the blue -- there are many symptoms we can watch for in the days and weeks leading up to an attack. But the symptoms may not be the ones we expect. Last year, for example, a landmark study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Institute found that 95 per cent of women who’d had heart attacks reported experiencing symptoms in the weeks and months before the attack - but the symptoms weren’t the expected chest pain, so they went unrecognised. Here are 10 symptoms you shouldn’t ignore. Indigestion or nausea Symptoms can range from mild indigestion to severe nausea, cramping, and vomiting. Watch out for this sign by becoming familiar with your own digestive habits. Jaw, ear, neck, or shoulder pain A sharp pain and numbness in the chest, shoulder, and arm is an indicator of heart attack, but many people don’t experience heart attack pain this way. A telltale sign: The pain comes and goes, rather than persisting unrelieved. Sexual dysfunction Having trouble achieving or keeping erections is common in men with coronary artery disease, but they may not make the connection. Exhaustion or fatigue If you’re normally a fairly energetic person and suddenly feel sidelined by fatigue, a call to your doctor is in order. Breathlessness and dizziness When your heart isn’t getting enough blood, it also isn’t getting enough oxygen. It’s the same feeling you get when you’re at high elevation, like when you are climbing a mountain. Leg swelling or pain When the heart muscle isn’t functioning properly, waste products aren’t carried away from tissues by the blood, and the result can be oedema, or swelling caused by fluid retention. Bring any swelling and pain to the attention of your doctor. Sleeplessness, insomnia, and anxiety Those who have had heart attacks often remember experiencing a sudden, unexplained inability to fall asleep or stay asleep during the month or weeks before their heart attack. Flu-like symptoms If you experience severe flu-like symptoms that don’t quite add up to the flu (no high temperature, for example), call your doctor to talk it over. Watch out also for persistent wheezing or chronic coughing that doesn’t resolve itself; that can be a sign of heart disease, experts say. Rapid-fire pulse or heart rate During these episodes, which come on suddenly, you feel as if your heart is beating very fast and hard, like you just ran up a hill - except you didn’t. A good rule of thumb, experts say, is to watch for clusters of symptoms that come on all at once and aren’t typical of your normal experience. For example, a normally alert, energetic person suddenly begins to have muddled thinking, memory loss, deep fatigue, and a sense of being “out of it.” ENDS Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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