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HEART ATTACK

What are the symptoms of a heart attack?

Some heart attacks follow the classic Hollywood script: the victim suddenly experiences an intense, crushing pain right beneath the breastbone that leaves victims clutching their chest. Many people feel extreme pressure, as if someone piled a load of bricks on their midsection. Others describe the pain as burning or knifelike. The pain often spreads down the arms (especially the left arm) and to the shoulders, neck, and jaw. Unlike angina pectoris -- chest pain caused by decreased blood flow to the heart and often relieved by nitroglycerin -- the pain of a heart attack will probably last at least 30 minutes and won't get better if you rest.
Pain isn't the only symptom of a heart attack. Many people also experience shortness of breath, weakness, nausea, dizziness, fainting, or heavy sweating; women, in particular, are likely to feel indigestion and nausea rather than crushing chest pain. In fact, some people don't feel any chest pain at all. So-called "silent" heart attacks are especially common in people over 75, and in people with diabetes.