To Your Health: Risk factors and warning signs of heart attack

Every 43 seconds, an American has a heart attack.

Yet not all heart attacks are the same. We think of them as dramatic, chest-clutching events that take us straight to the emergency room. And that’s a problem because, sometimes, the signs of a heart attack are much subtler.

Heart attacks are still seen commonly among Americans. That’s not surprising given the frequency of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the United States. CAD is a buildup of cholesterol, calcium and fatty deposits in arteries. When blood flowing through one or more arteries is reduced or blocked, the heart is deprived of oxygen, causing a heart attack.

While CAD can run in families, it’s primarily a lifestyle disease. Lack of exercise, smoking, high cholesterol, high fat and high salt diets – all too common in the U.S. – lead to these sticky plaques and eventually the blood clots that block the arteries.

CAD is both common and sneaky. Symptoms vary and sometimes a heart attack is the first sign of trouble. With 805,000 heart attacks every year, it’s important that we all recognize the symptoms for ourselves and the people we love. Because, if it’s a heart attack, immediate medical care is essential.

Know the symptoms

Signals of a heart attack most commonly include chest pain or tightening, shortness of breath, dizziness and sweating. Pain can also be present in left arm, back, neck and jaw. Nausea can be a sign as well. Symptoms can come and go – or there may be no clear symptoms at all. Nearly one out of five heart attacks is silent, meaning the symptoms are so subtle they may be mistaken for something else, like fatigue or heart burn.

To complicate matters more, women may experience both CAD and heart attacks differently than men. While men are mostly likely to have chest pain, women may experience the pain of a heart attack in the jaw, shoulder, back or lower abdomen – feeling no pain or tightness in the chest at all. Those presentations can mislead women and even medical professionals, delaying the immediate response that a heart attack requires.

When in doubt, check it out Protecting yourself from a heart attack starts with listening to your body. Because symptoms can vary, pay attention to unusual fatigue, heart burn or bouts of sweating without exercise.

Know, too, your risk factors for CAD, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, smoking or family history of heart disease. If you are at risk, talk with your doctor about ways you can take care of yourself to reduce your chances of developing heart disease. Just a 30-minute walk each day, for example, has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

In addition to helping you make changes in your physical activity and diet, your doctor may do screening tests to detect CAD. Today’s diagnostic technologies, including electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, cardiac catheterization and stress tests, can detect heart disease in its earliest stages, when it’s most treatable.

And catching it early is important because CAD is a degenerative disease, meaning it will only get worse with time. If undetected, coronary artery disease can not only lead to a heart attack, but also heart failure, stroke and even death. In 2019 alone, 360,900 Americans died due to coronary artery disease.

Don’t be another statistic. Know all the possible warning signs of heart trouble, and stay in touch with your doctor to protect your heart and your life.