Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for men and women worldwide. Contrary to what you might see in the movies, it’s hard to ignore the symptoms of a heart attack. “Two-thirds of women will have symptoms of a non-Hollywood heart attack,” says C. Noel Bairy Merz, MD, director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles.
Chest tightness and pain in the upper body are more obvious, but heart attack has many symptoms that can be confused with other diseases (nausea, heartburn, fatigue, etc.). Recognizing the symptoms of a heart attack and getting immediate help can be the difference between life and death. Here are the most common symptoms to watch out for.
- UNCOMFORTABLE PRESSURE.
The first symptom of a heart attack listed by the American Heart Association is “uncomfortable pressure, tightness, fullness, or pain in the center of the chest.” This discomfort may appear in waves lasting more than a few minutes at a time.