How do you know if you are having a small heart attack?
814665
Contrary to what some say, your small heart and your regular-sized heart act the same way.  (cue the rim shot)\n\nWomen tend to present with more atypical symptoms than men.  Almost always is a sense of shortness of breath.  Other symptoms may be a profound sense of fatigue, chest tightness, jaw and/or neck discomfort, shoulder, arm, mid scapular discomfort.  Many people will say that they are not feeling true "pain."  There may also be pallor, a cold sweat, nausea and/or vomiting, and a sense of "impending doom."\n\nAnother consideration is your risk factors.  Early family history for heart disease (heart attacks, open hearts, heart caths only - not arrhythmias or valve problems), high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and smoking are the big five.  If you are a woman and under 40 then you would need to have nearly all of the risk factors to actually have heart disease/heart attack.  If you are at menopause or later in life a couple of factors would be enough to be concerned.  I hope this helps.
410467
Could be axiety attacks-that's about the age my daughter got them-stress related-but could be serious I was 26 when I had my first heart attack after egnoring some of the same symtoms.\nTell her to have a doctor check her out and if it's stress he can give her something to help her and you will feel better know that she is not seriously ill.
883150
if you are a minor talk to your mom or dad, or go to the doctor to rule anything out. you never know it could be a bad chest cold or asthma or worse or nothing.
628527
you should see your doctor to rule out something serious. They will make sure it's not your heart.
1080156
Are you sure its heartburn and not chest pain? Chest pain isn't always sharp stabbing pains. Call your cardiologist.
222123
Panic attacks often mimic heart attacks. That's why they can be so darn scary. But it's better to go to the hospital just to be sure. They would rather see you there with a panic attack than to have you second-guess and be wrong. Are you male or female? Often doctors don't take female symptoms as seriously because they think only men get heart disease. If you wake up in the middle of the night trying to catch your breath, you may have sleep apnea. That's when you stop breathing for several seconds and up to a minute. This can cause heart problems. So talk to your doctor about testing at a sleep clinic. (Do you snore?? That often accompanies sleep apnea.) I know it's frustrating to go to the doctor so often and to find nothing wrong. To learn more about panic attacks, go to the link below. You can also do a search on sleep apnea. If you think it could be panic attacks, there are medications you can take to control them... the SSRI class of medications. Talk to your doctor, or better, to a psychiatrist. That's a medical doctor with special training in emotional issues. They can diagnose conditions and prescribe appropriate medications. Good luck. You will be fine.
967175
One thing could be a sign of a heart attack or you may have ashtma, bronchitis's or some form of a chest cold. If you have chest pains please make sure you get tested RIGHT  AWAY.
475982
some people are going to get all panicky and tell you it's a heart attack but it could very likely be a pinched nerve. i would make an appointment with your doctor and explain your symptoms and severity and they may recommend doing more tests to make sure it's not your heart and they can also do more testing to see if it's a pinched nerve.
109168
The rule of thumb is this...If you have chest pain, get to a doctor or hospital for EKG and blood tests immediately.  If it is not heart problems....GRRREAT!  If it is, you need to be treated quickly.  Anxiety can cause similar symptons as an MI and if you blow off your discomfort as nothing but anxiety....it may be the last thing you do.  A heart attack does damage to your heart...you only have one heart, do NOT diagnose your own problem!
1141699
Best bet is to go to the ER when this happens....also there are a few other things that it could be ....but there are many things that go into diagnosing a heart attack....cardiac enzymes,ekg's physical symptoms....but just from the little that you describe it doesnt sound cardiac in nature....what are you doing when this happens?Does the pain move around or change when you change positions? Are you under stress?What is your age??If you're in your 20's for example  its highly unlikely that its cardiac at all though it can happen...There is also a esophageal problem that can mimic a heart attack or feeling of one...best thing to do is go to the ER or call 911 when this happens....the only way to definitively tell if you are having a cardiac event is by many tests including labwork,ekg's,stress tests etc....so next time it happens instead of coming here and asking the question  call 911....
762294
Yes.  I see patients who come into the ER all the time with symptoms acting just like cardiac chest pain and it turns out to be anxiety.  Unfortunately, it is hard to tell the difference.  I always tell my patients not to try to diagnose themselves and come to the ER for chest pain symptoms.
1126314
The pain varies .If you even think there is a chance of heart problems seek medical attention ASAP .
632399
Please see your doctor. People are having heart attacks younger and younger these days. I've lost a couple of good friends because they didn't take heart health seriously. Mainly because they were hardly 30 years old. And heart attacks don't just happen to fat people. I'm not saying this to freak you out. It's so simple to go to the doctor and ask questions. You can prevent so much
341430
Those symptoms could mean a number of things, but it's not healthy no matter what it is.  I guess it's possible to have a young heart attack, but it doesn't seem very likely.  Either way, she should see a doctor soon.
270133
A heart attack is also known as a myocardial infarction (myo=muscle, cardial=heart, infarction=starving of oxygen and dying).  A heart attack occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries on the outside of the heart, feeding the heart muscle.  \n\nAn inflamatory process occurs causing the plaque to rupture within the artery.  A part of plaque either moves down stream or a clot forms at the rupture point and/or moves down stream.  When a sudden blockage occurs in one of the arteries, it deprives the muscle of oxygen.  Death of the heart muscle cell begins without oxygen and starts to release chemicals that can be detected in the blood stream.  The sooner the blockage can be relieved either by clot busting medications or by an urgent angioplasty the better the prognosis is for the patient.  In adddition to the length of time that the blockage occurs, the placement (which of the arteries) is key is establishing the long term damage and prognosis for a patient.  Certain arteries supply more important areas of the heart than other arteries.  These days many patients who have heart attacks, are in the hospital for a few days and are on a normal regimen within 6 weeks.  \n\nIf immediate help is not obtained, the damaged heart is irritable and can begin a rhythm that is not compatible with life, called ventricular tachycardia.  This is why defibrillators are becoming more available in places like airplanes and malls, to use electricity to shock the heart out of that fatal rhythm.
1073973
You should just have regular echo cardiograms to monitor the health of your heart.  Some people with a bicuspid aortic valve get narrowing.  The narrowing will cause shortness of breath or chest pain with activity.  If you don't have that problem than there are no limitations and sex is just fine.  Have fun!
110546
Chest pain may result from angina, heart attack, and other serious diseases. If you experience chest pain, consider it a warning for you to seek medical attention and treatment. While chest pain may be a warning of a heart attack, it may result from other disorders, such as another heart condition, lung disorder, or from a gastrointestinal problem. Chest wall pain is a relatively harmless chest pain caused by muscle and cartilage tenderness in the chest wall. In any event, you should seek immediate medical attention when you experience undiagnosed chest pain.