4 Warning Signs

My mother was only 46 and in apparent good health but she went to bed one night with what she thought was heartburn so she drank something to combat heartburn and went to bed.  That night she had a heart attack and a stroke and never woke up again.  We didn't know the signs of a heart attack.  A little more than 2 1/2 years ago my younger brother started to complain about heartburn for several days before his death.  He handled it with Tums and never realized that it was the beginning of a heart attack.  Doctor's tell me there are four signs of a heart attack starting.  If you are over 40, overweight, or have a family history of heart disease you should know these signs.  Knowing these signs saved my life this past March.

1.  Chest pain:  This is the most common symptom.  It doesn't have to be severe.  It may come and go and even be mild at first so that you do not realize anything serious at all is happening.

2.  Shortness of breath:  While most people find chest pain alarming, they are not aware that shortness of breath, even in the absence of chest pain, can signal an impending heart attack.  This can occur suddenly, right before or even during a heart attack.  This can be an important clue that demands checking out.

3.  Indigestion or heartburn:  One of the challenging things about chest pain is that it often doesn't feel like chest pain.  Sometimes it feels like indigestion, or even heartburn.

4.  Nausea and vomiting:  These are often classified as "atypical" symptoms of hear attack, but they are common.

Obviously, having any one of these symptoms does not necessarily mean you are having a heart attack.
But if you believe you are having a heart attack, call 911 and ask to be taken to the nearest hospital.  If you know these signs it can save your life.  This past March I woke up at 1 AM with pain in my chest. My wife got me an aspirin, and I got my shoes and we went to the hospital.  Knowing these signs saved my life.