No two heart attacks are the same. Symptoms
can range from feeling generally unwell to severe chest pain. In
many cases chest pain or tightness is accompanied by a range of
other symptoms.
The most common symptoms of heart attack
are:
- Central chest pain which can spread to the
arms, neck or jaw.
- Feeling sick or sweaty as well as having
central chest pain.
- Feeling short of breath as well as having
central chest pain.
Symptoms vary and some people may feel any of
the following:
- A dull pain, ache, or ‘heavy’ feeling in the
chest.
- A mild discomfort in the chest that makes you
feel generally unwell.
- A pain in the chest that can spread
to the back or stomach.
- A chest pain that feels
like bad indigestion.
- Feeling light-headed or dizzy as well as
having chest pain.
The pain can last from five minutes to several
hours. Moving around, changing your position or resting will not
stop or ease the pain. The pain may be constant or it may come and
go. It may feel like pressure, squeezing or 'fullness'.
If you think that you, or someone you
know is suffering from a heart attack you need to
call 999 for an
ambulance immediately.
We recently supported a British Heart
Foundation campaign to raise awareness of the symptoms of heart
attack. One of our paramedics appeared in the campaign's short
film called ‘Watch your own heart attack’
.
(This information is provided by kind permission of
the British Heart Foundation, with
whom we work closely on heart-related issues.)