How do I know if I'm having mini heart attacks?

SMI warning signs
It can feel like an uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, or pain. Discomfort in other upper-body areas, such as one or both arms, the back, the neck, the jaw, or the stomach. Shortness of breath before or during chest discomfort. Breaking out in a cold sweat, or feeling nauseated or lightheaded.

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How do you know if you had a mild heart attack?

Symptoms of a heart attack can include:
  1. chest pain – a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest.
  2. pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is spreading from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and tummy.

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Can you have mini heart attacks and not know it?

A silent heart attack, also called a silent Ischemia, is a heart attack that has either no symptoms, minimal symptoms or unrecognized symptoms. A heart attack is not always as obvious as pain in your chest, shortness of breath and cold sweats.

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What does a mini heart attack look like?

Symptoms of a mini heart attack are similar to a regular heart attack but last for a shorter time and include: Pain, pressure, tightness, or discomfort in the chest. Pain, tingling, squeezing, or discomfort in other parts of the upper body, including the arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. Shortness of breath.

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How can I test myself for a heart attack?

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.)

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Silent Heart Attacks Signs

39 related questions found

What does a minor heartattack feel like?

Some people have no symptoms. Common heart attack symptoms include: Chest pain that may feel like pressure, tightness, pain, squeezing or aching. Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulder, arm, back, neck, jaw, teeth or sometimes the upper belly.

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Can you feel small heart attacks?

Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center or left side of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. 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.

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What are silent heart attacks?

A silent heart attack is a heart attack that has few, if any, symptoms or has symptoms not recognized as a heart attack. A silent heart attack might not cause chest pain or shortness of breath, which are typically associated with a heart attack.

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How long do silent heart attacks last?

The duration of a silent heart attack can vary. If symptoms do present, a person should seek medical attention immediately. When blood flow to the heart stops for around 15 minutes, the heart can become damaged. After about 30 minutes, the damage is irreversible.

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What is a pre heart attack?

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.

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How do you stop a mini heart attack?

It is not possible to stop a heart attack if one is already in progress. The only way to stop a heart attack is to seek emergency medical attention. Some people say that coughing will help to stop a heart attack by keeping the blood flowing. However, the American Heart Association does not endorse this method.

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What happens if you ignore a mild heart attack?

If a person does not receive immediate treatment, this lack of blood flow can cause damage to the heart. Complications arising from this situation include: Arrhythmias: These are abnormal heartbeats. Cardiogenic shock: This refers to severe damage to the heart muscle.

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Can you still have heart problems if your ECG is normal?

You may have a perfectly normal ECG, yet still have a heart condition. If your test is normal but your doctor suspects that you have a heart problem, he may recommend that you have another ECG, or a different type of test to find out for sure.

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Can heart attacks start and stop?

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.

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What are the symptoms of a heart problem in a woman?

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  • Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or upper belly (abdomen) discomfort.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Pain in one or both arms.
  • Nausea or vomiting.
  • Sweating.
  • Lightheadedness or dizziness.
  • Unusual fatigue.
  • Heartburn (indigestion)

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How long do heart attacks last?

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.

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Can heart attacks last for days?

Over 50% of heart attacks have "beginning" symptoms that may come and go for days or weeks.

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What causes chest pain if ECG is normal?

It could be a lung disorder, such as a blood clot to the lungs, known as a pulmonary embolism. Additionally, other causes of chest discomfort include spasm of the esophagus, diseases of the aorta, gastroesophageal reflux disease, musculoskeletal pain, fast heart rhythm abnormalities and costochondritis.

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Do mini heart attacks hurt?

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).

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Can anxiety cause mini heart attacks?

Those with an anxiety disorder have most likely experienced a panic or anxiety attack at some point in their lives. The symptoms can closely mimic heart attacks for some people—they may feel chest pain, shortness of breath and heart palpitations, or a racing heartbeat.

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How common are mini heart attacks?

And it is more common than one might expect, said Dr. Michael Kontos, a cardiologist with VCU Health Pauley Heart Center in Richmond, Virginia. Of the estimated 805,000 heart attacks each year in the U.S., a projected 170,000 of them are silent heart attacks, according to statistics from the American Heart Association.

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How do I know if my chest pain is serious?

Heart-related chest pain
  1. Pressure, fullness, burning or tightness in your chest.
  2. Crushing or searing pain that spreads to your back, neck, jaw, shoulders, and one or both arms.
  3. Pain that lasts more than a few minutes, gets worse with activity, goes away and comes back, or varies in intensity.
  4. Shortness of breath.

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Why do healthy people have heart attacks?

Seemingly healthy people are “suddenly” having heart attacks because, as it turns out, their arteries are not perfectly healthy and they don't know it. With the proper noninvasive tests, these diseased arteries would have been identified, and the heart attacks wouldn't have happened.

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What is the best test to check for heart problems?

An echocardiogram is a common test. It gives a picture of your heart using ultrasound, a type of X-ray. It uses a probe either on your chest or down your oesophagus (throat). It helps your doctor check if there are any problems with your heart's valves and chambers, and see how strongly your heart pumps blood.

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Can you have chest pain that is not heart related?

Noncardiac chest pain is defined as recurring pain in your chest — typically, behind your breast bone and near your heart — that is not related to your heart. In most people, noncardiac chest pain is actually related to a problem with their esophagus, most often gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

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