What Does a Heart Attack Feel Like?
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but most start slowly with mild pain and discomfort usually in the center of the chest. A heart attack generally causes chest pain for more than 15 minutes, but a heart attack can also have unusual symptoms, or even be "silent," with no signs at all.
Typical warning signs of heart attack, especially in men, include some or all of these symptoms:
Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back
Chest pain spreading to the shoulders, back or arms
Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea and/or shortness of breath
Heart attacks can also have less common but equally serious symptoms. Women more typically have these less common signs and may not recognize that they're having a heart attack. A delay in recognizing symptoms can be fatal, so don't overlook or dismiss things such as:
Unusual chest pain, stomach or abdominal pain
Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing
Unexplained anxiety, weakness or fatigue
Palpitations, cold sweats or paleness
Surviving a heart attack and preventing irreversible damage often depends on getting immediate medical attention, preferably within an hour of the first symptom. If you suspect you are having a heart attack, call 911. Then chew and swallow one regular aspirin (not some other type of pain product). Aspirin during a heart attack could save 10,000 lives a year. During a heart attack, aspirin prevents clots from getting larger. People with severe allergies to aspirin should not take aspirin.
