12 Possible Heart Symptoms You Shouldn't Ignore

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of U.S. men and women, accounting for 40%
of all U.S. deaths. That's more than all forms of cancer combined.
Why is heart disease so deadly? One reason is that many people are slow to
seek help when symptoms arise. Yes, someone gripped by sudden chest pain
probably knows to call 911. But heart symptoms aren't always intense or
obvious, and they vary from person to person and according to gender.
For example, men having a heart attack often experience chest pain and
shortness of breath, but women having a heart attack may instead feel dizzy,
nauseated, or unusually fatigued. Though heart disease is often considered a
"man's disease," women now account for almost 53% of heart-related deaths.
Because it can be hard to make sense of heart symptoms, doctors warn against
ignoring possible warning signs, toughing them out, waiting to see if they go
away, or being quick to blame them on heartburn, muscle soreness, or other less
serious, noncardiac causes. That's especially true for men and people over 65,
as well as for people with other cardiac risk factors, such as high cholesterol
or blood pressure, obesity, smoking, diabetes, or a family history of heart
disease.
"The more risk factors you have, the higher the likelihood that a symptom
means something is going on with your heart," says David Frid, MD, a
cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. "People often don't want to admit that
they're old enough or sick enough to have heart trouble. Putting off treatment
for other medical problems might not be so bad, but a serious heart problem can
mean sudden death. It's better to go in and get it evaluated than to be
dead."
 
12 Possible Heart Symptoms Never to Ignore
Here are a dozen symptoms that may signal heart trouble.

1. Anxiety. Heart attack can cause intense anxiety or a fear of
death. Heart attack survivors often talk about having experienced a sense of
"impending doom."

2. Chest discomfort. Pain in the chest is the classic symptom of
heart attack, and "the No. 1 symptom that we typically look for," says
Jean C. McSweeney, PhD, RN, associate dean for research at the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing in Little Rock and a pioneer
in research on heart symptoms in women. But not all heart attacks cause chest
pain, and chest pain can stem from ailments that have nothing to do with the
heart.
Heart-related chest pain is often centered under the breastbone, perhaps a
little to the left of center. The pain has been likened to "an elephant sitting
on the chest," but it can also be an uncomfortable sensation of pressure,
squeezing, or fullness. "It's not unusual for women to describe the pain as a
minor ache," McSweeney says. "Some women say the pain wasn't bad enough even to
take a Tylenol."
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