Cardiology: What kind of chest pain is a warning sign for a heart attack?

Chest pain is a common symptom of a heart attack and can range from mild to severe. When it comes to warning signs for an impending heart attack, you should pay special attention to sudden or severe chest pain or discomfort that lasts more than a few minutes and usually gets worse with activity.

The type of chest pain associated with a heart attack can feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness, burning or even sharp pains in the center of your chest. This kind of pain may also radiate outward into other parts of the body including down the arm(s), back, neck, abdomen and/or jaw. It’s often accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea and sweating. Typically the discomfort is not relieved by rest and usually lasts longer than 20 minutes before subsiding somewhat or ceasing altogether

Other signs that could indicate you are having a heart attack include shortness of breath; feeling faint; dizziness; palpitations (an irregular heartbeat); increased sweating; tiredness; coughing up blood-tinged sputum; abdominal bloating/pain; shoulder ache; indigestion and anxiety. If you experience any combination these symptoms along with chest pain lasting for more than five minutes then seek medical help immediately because it’s likely that you are having a life-threatening episode related to cardiac arrest – time is very important since prompt treatment could save your life!