The warning signs of heart attack vary. The symptoms usually last for at least 10 minutes and you may experience more than one of the symptoms below.
Pain in the chest
A heart attack usually causes discomfort or pain in the centre of the chest. The pain may come on suddenly, or sometimes starts slowly, developing over minutes. It may feel like tightness, pressure, heaviness, fullness, or squeezing. The feeling has been described as: ‘like a steel band tightening around my chest’, ‘like an elephant sitting on my chest’ or ‘like a red hot poker in the centre of my chest’. The pain may be severe, moderate or even mild.
Pain spreading
The chest discomfort may spread to the neck and throat, jaw, shoulders, the back, either or both arms and even into the wrists and hands.
Discomfort in the upper body
Some people do not get any chest pain -only discomfort in parts of the upper body. There may be a choking feeling in the throat. The arms may feel ‘heavy’ or ‘useless’.
Other symptoms
Often there may also be difficulty breathing, nausea or vomiting, a cold sweat or a feeling of being dizzy or light-headed.
What to do
If you experience any of the warning signs of heart attack mentioned above:
- Immediately stop what you are doing and rest.
- If you are with someone, tell them what you are experiencing.
- If your symptoms are severe, get worse quickly or last for 10 minutes (even if they are mild), this is an emergency. Get help fast. Call triple zero (000) and ask for the ambulance service.
- Don’t hang up. The operator will give you advice before the ambulance arrives.
- If calling 000 from your mobile phone does not work, try calling 112.
- If you are with someone who may be having a heart attack, take charge and follow the steps above. Stay with the person until the ambulance arrives.
In all situations, when the warning signs of heart attack are experienced, we advise calling 000 for an ambulance. The operator will give advice on what to do before the ambulance arrives.
If calling 000 from your mobile phone does not work, try calling 112.
If you need to know any further information, please call The Heart Foundation on 1300 36 27 87.
Information provided by The Heart Foundation