Knowing when chest pain is an emergency is crucial. The sooner you recognize a heart attack, the faster you can get treatment. Rapid treatment makes the difference between life and death and determines how well you recover.
Laura Fernandes, MD, FACC, at Woodlands Heart and Vascular Institute in The Woodlands, Texas, diagnoses the cause of chest pain and provides exceptional treatment. But if your chest pain signals a heart attack, it’s time to call 911 for emergency care.
Crushing chest pain leaves no doubt that you need immediate medical attention. But heart attacks don’t always come with obvious or expected symptoms.
The signs listed here are good indicators that your chest pain needs immediate attention. If you have any doubts, protect your life and seek emergency care.
If you have persistent chest pain, call 911 for emergency care.
It’s better to feel embarrassed when the emergency room team tells you the pain was indigestion than to risk not getting life-saving treatment for a heart attack.
Here are five signs that indicate your chest pain requires emergency medical attention. If you experience any of them, call 911 immediately:
Sudden, severe chest pain that worsens rapidly is the symptom most people associate with a heart attack. Instead of pain, you could have a sudden crushing sensation or a feeling of severe pressure on your chest. In both cases, you should call 911 immediately.
Not all heart attacks appear as sudden, severe pain. Your chest pain may initially seem mild and then gradually increase in intensity.
If the pain lasts longer than five minutes, you need emergency care.
3. You have other symptoms with the chest pain
Chest pain is more likely to be a heart attack if you have other symptoms, such as:
Fainting is another sign your chest pain is an emergency.
You can usually feel chest pain from a heart attack in the center of your chest. It’s also common for the pain to radiate to your neck, jaw, arm, shoulders, or upper back.
Heart attack pain doesn’t improve with time. It may come and go at first before becoming a more consistent and progressive pain, but it doesn’t disappear completely or feel better.
By comparison, chest pain caused by a lung, muscle, or digestive problem may improve when you rest, change your position, or take an antacid or pain reliever.
You may experience chest pain when exercising that improves when you rest. This pain (angina) is a sign of a clogged heart artery (coronary artery disease).
Cholesterol plaque causes the blockage. As the plaque continues to enlarge, it increasingly restricts the blood supply to your heart.
As long as the pain improves when you rest, you don’t need emergency care. However, you do need prompt medical attention. Coronary artery disease requires immediate treatment to prevent it from causing a heart attack.
Many people put off going to the emergency room, but you should call 911 immediately. During a heart attack, the muscles start to die. Irreversible damage begins within 30 minutes after the muscle loses oxygen.
Never drive yourself to the emergency room. You may lose consciousness while driving. Additionally, the emergency team can start your treatment on the way to the hospital and revive you with a defibrillator if your heart stops.
Call Woodlands Heart and Vascular Institute today or use online booking to schedule a checkup, learn if you have a heart condition, and receive personalized treatment.
