Chest Pain is the most common sign of a heart attack, but it's not always a crushing, sudden pain. It may be an uncomfortable feeling, like heaviness or a squeeze. Wrong to mistake it for heartburn. It may occur intermittently.
Men typically feel pain in the left arm, but women may feel pain in both arms. Your arms could feel heavy. Sign of angina or a heart attack. Pain may start in your chest, then move to your upper or lower back.
Pain or discomfort that spreads to your shoulders, back, neck, or arms. You can feel pain above the shoulders when you're having a heart attack. Your lower jaw on one or both sides may hurt or feel tight. Your neck may ache, or you could have a choking or burning feeling in your throat. Arm or shoulder pain can be a sign, especially if you also have pain or pressure in the center of your chest and shortness of breath. Your stomach, jaw, back, or neck also might hurt. You could also get sick to your stomach, lightheaded, and clammy with sweat.
Lightheadedness, dizziness, or fainting. It's a red flag for a heart attack if you suddenly feel tired or get wiped out. You also might feel drained but still, find it hard to sleep. Fainting happens when your blood pressure is low and your heart isn't pumping the right amount of oxygen to your brain. It might also be because you're overheating. Nausea and lack of appetite can also be signs of trouble.
If you're having a heart attack, you may break out in a sweat even if you're not pushing yourself hard. You could feel cold and clammy. You may be short of breath even if you haven't moved off your couch. When you lie down, it may be even harder to breathe.
Shortness of breath with a regular cough and wheeze can be signs of heart failure. That's when your heart doesn't pump well enough to supply your body with all the blood and oxygen it needs. When you have heart failure, blood and fluids can back up into your lungs. You may have a hard time breathing or hear a rattling sound when you inhale. You might cough up pinkish mucus.
You could have it in your feet, ankles, legs, or stomach if you have heart failure. You may notice that your shoes feel tight. As blood flow out of your heart slows down, blood going back to it through the veins can back up. That causes fluid to collect in spots that it shouldn't. Your kidneys can't get rid of water and salt, which leads to more swelling.
When you have heart failure, your body moves blood and the oxygen it carries away from areas that aren't as important, like your limbs, and sends it to the brain and heart. That makes moving around harder. Regular activities, like walking the dog or going up and downstairs, may be hard to do. As your heart gets weaker, simply getting dressed or walking across the room can tire you out.
With heart failure, your heart may beat fast to make up for its lack of pumping power. You may feel like your heart is racing.
A heart rhythm disorder like atrial fibrillation (AFib) can cause your ticker to beat fast and out of sync. Some people describe the feeling as a flutter or like a fish is flopping around inside their chest. AFib can lead to blood clots and stroke if you don't treat it. It's possible you might not notice anything unusual about the way your heart beats but you might feel short of breath, tired, or lightheaded.
If it's happening every night, you could have sleep apnea. That's a condition that causes pauses in your breathing while you sleep. It's linked to atrial fibrillation and may raise your risk of high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. If you don't get treatment for your sleep apnea, you may have a higher chance of life-threatening heart trouble.
If you have this problem often, it could be a sign that you have heart disease. Blood vessels in your penis may be clogged with plaque, just like vessels around your heart can get blocked. Without good blood flow, it's hard to get and keep an erection. Talk to your doctor if you have Erectile dysfunction.
