Early Heart Attack Care education teaches you to recognize the early signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Why? We want you to become an active bystander so you can save a life - even if it’s yours.
About 750,000 people in the U.S. have heart attacks each year. Of those, about 116,000 die. And many of these patients experienced early symptoms.
Learn the early signs and symptoms
Someone might have one or more of these common symptoms. They can be initially mild and gradually increase in intensity, or they can come and go. Stay alert, and always pay attention to chest pressure or discomfort.
- Feeling of fullness
- Pain that travels down one of both arms
- Jaw pain
- Excessive fatigue of weakness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Back pain
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pressure, squeezing, aching or burning
If you or someone you know if experiencing these symptoms, call 911 immediately! Don’t try and drive yourself to an emergency room.
Most significant heart damage will occur within the first two hours of a heart attack. Early heart attack care encourages you to know the subtle signs of a heart attack and act on them – before heart damage occurs.
Heart attack risk factors
Below are general risk factors – you should discuss your risk for heart attack with your doctor.
- Chest pain, pressure, burning, aching or tightness – and it may come and go
- A family history of cardiovascular disease
- High-blood pressure
- Overweight or obese
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Using tobacco products
- Metabolic disease, diabetes or other illnesses
- For women, it can also include birth control pills, a history of pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes or having a low birth weight baby