With urgent treatment, most people will recover from a heart attack and can live fulfilling lives. Making healthful lifestyle choices and following the recommended treatment plan can reduce the risk of experiencing future heart attacks.
Your heart can recover from a heart attack, but it takes time. And the heart attack will likely leave some damage that doesn't go away, in the form of scar tissue. The amount of heart damage varies according to: The timing of treatment.
Mild heart attack symptoms might only occur for two to five minutes then stop with rest. A full heart attack with complete blockage lasts much longer, sometimes for more than 20 minutes.
But, what about when it's not? Most heart attacks actually involve only mild pain or discomfort in the center of your chest. You may also feel pressure, squeezing, or fullness. These symptoms usually start slowly, and they may go away and come back.
Over 50% of heart attacks have "beginning" symptoms that may come and go for days or weeks.
Signs of a heart attack include:
- Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. - Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort. - Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness. (If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, call 9-1-1 immediately.)
The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. Feeling weak, light-headed, or faint. You may also break out into a cold sweat. Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back.
Age. Men age 45 and older and women age 55 and older are more likely to have a heart attack than are younger men and women. Tobacco use. This includes smoking and long-term exposure to secondhand smoke.
The majority of heart attack deaths occur in patients ages 65 and older, but a man's risk begins to increase at 45 (for women, it starts at 55).
In men, the risk for heart attack increases significantly after the age of 45. In women, heart attacks are more likely to occur after the age of 50. A heart attack strikes someone about every 34 seconds.
Pre-Heart Attack Symptoms – Female
Men may feel pain and numbness in the left arm or the side of the chest. In women, these symptoms may appear on the right side. Women may experience unexplained exhaustion, or feel drained, dizzy or nauseous. Women may feel upper back pain that travels up into their jaw.
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes – or it may go away and then return. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. Discomfort in other areas of the upper body.
Here's a surprising fact: nearly half of people who have a heart attack don't realize it at the time. These so-called silent heart attacks are only diagnosed after the event, when a recording of the heart's electrical activity (an electrocardiogram or ECG) or another test reveals evidence of damage to the heart.
A mini heart attack, also called a mild heart attack or a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), is when there is only partial blockage of the artery, the symptoms don't last as long as a regular heart attack, and the heart may only suffer minimal damage.
Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Overall, life expectancy may decrease by about 8-10% of your expected life. For example, a person with no heart disease will be expected to die around age 85, but in the presence of a heart attack, the life expectancy will be reduced by 10% or 8.5 years.
What time of day is a heart attack most likely to happen? “Most heart attacks hit during the early morning hours from 4 – 10 am when blood platelets are stickier, and there is increased adrenaline released from the adrenal glands that can trigger rupture of plaques in coronary arteries,” said Dr. Goodroe.
In a “mini” heart attack, blood flow to the heart is partially blocked. Symptoms include chest pain and are similar to those of a heart attack, but there is less damage to the heart. The technical term for a “mini” heart attack is a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).
Cardiovascular deaths around the world, such as heart attacks and strokes, peak in January. Why this is the case has baffled scientists for some time, but new evidence is starting to unravel the mystery.
In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Every year, about 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack. Of these, 605,000 are a first heart attack.
If you're in your 20s, 30s or 40s, you might believe you have plenty of time before you need to start thinking about your heart health and your chances of having a heart attack. But new research shows that heart attacks – often associated with older men – are increasingly occurring in younger people, especially women.
Most people will recover from a heart attack, especially if they receive emergency medical treatment. The survival rate for heart attacks is now 90%.
People who have a silent heart attack have symptoms not normally associated with a heart attack, mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. They may not realize they've had a heart attack. With a silent heart attack, symptoms can make you feel like: You have the flu.
Wires from the electrodes are connected to the ECG machine, which records the electrical impulses. An ECG is important because: it helps confirm the diagnosis of a heart attack.