When To Seek Medical Attention for Chest Pain


Posted by: Tampa Cardio

On: August 1, 2019

heart attack tampa cardio tampa fl

When To Seek Medical Attention for Chest Pain

Chest pain often comes out of seemingly nowhere. It begins suddenly and is alarming. Your heart is the very center of your being and to think something could be wrong with it is a very scary experience. It is very easy to assume the worst-case scenario and freak out.

Freaking out will only raise your stress and adrenaline levels making you feel worse. Do your best to try and remain calm. While, yes, chest pain can be a symptom of heart attack, it isn’t always the case. Chest pain can signal many other conditions some of which are serious and others that are not.

This begs the question: How do you know when chest pain is serious and when you can just reach for something from the medicine cabinet for relief?

Heart attacks claim the lives of more and more people each year here in the United States than any other medical condition. Due to the fact that people tend to automatically associate chest pain with a heart attack, they often run to the hospital unnecessarily.

Indigestion and even gas can cause chest pain. Ironically because “heart pain” is often not experienced in the chest and may not be that painful some people who are actually are having a heart attack may remain unaware, and end up dying because they did not seek medical attention.

What a Heart Attack Feels Like:

The majority of heart attack survivors describe the pain as not so much of a stabbing sharp pain but rather a dull tightness, squeezing, or heaviness around their upper body. It is usually focused on the left side and the exact location where it originates can be tough to identify.

The chest sensations linked with heart attacks are referred to by their Latin name, angina pectoris.

While chest pains are the most widely known symptom of a heart attack, it’s important to pay attention to other symptoms as well.

-Shortness of breath

-Anxiety

-Excessive sweating

-Nausea

-Some people did not have any pain in their chest at all, but instead feel tenderness or discomfort in their arms, shoulders, neck, upper back, or jaws. As your heart muscles run out of oxygen during an attack, they send out pain signals through the nervous system. This causes confusion in the brain as to where exactly the pain is originating.

More atypical symptoms

-Pain on the right side of the body

-Pain that is sharp or burning, or even just a feeling of coldness in their chest

-1/3 of heart attack patients report having experienced no pain at all

For this reason, it’s wise to be aware of any current risk factors in your life, such as your age, genetics, and whether or not you smoke cigarettes, and check-in with your doctor regularly if you feel that you are at risk but are concerned about not experiencing any warning symptoms.

No chest pain should be ignored. You can generally tell if your chest pain is NOT heart-related if:

-The pain is sharp and only lasts for a few seconds and worsens with deep breathing.

-The pain gets worse when you move or when you touch the area that is hurting.

-The pain’s location is easily pinpointed.

Prevention is always the best plan of action against the threat of a heart attack. If you or someone you love is concerned about the potential risks, please contact the Tampa Cardiovascular Associates at (813) 975-2800 to ask questions or set up an appointment. www.tampacardio.com

Posted by: Tampa Cardio

On: 01/08/2019

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