For example, a problem with the heart not only triggers nerves in that area, but also causes pain elsewhere. The pain or pressure is sometimes sudden, not due to physical exertion, and can wake you up at night. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. However, women especially need to watch out for additional signs of cardiac trouble.
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August 29, Print This Page Click to Print. Heart Health. Taking aspirin during a heart attack could reduce heart damage by helping to keep your blood from clotting. Aspirin can interact with other medications, however, so don't take an aspirin unless your doctor or emergency medical personnel recommend it. Don't delay calling to take an aspirin. Call for emergency help first. If you see someone who's unconscious and you believe is having a heart attack, first call for emergency medical help.
Then check if the person is breathing and has a pulse. If the person isn't breathing or you don't find a pulse, only then should you begin CPR. Push hard and fast on the person's chest in a fairly rapid rhythm — about to compressions a minute.
If you haven't been trained in CPR , doctors recommend performing only chest compressions. If you have been trained in CPR , you can go on to opening the airway and rescue breathing. A heart attack occurs when one or more of your coronary arteries becomes blocked. Over time, a buildup of fatty deposits, including cholesterol, form substances called plaques, which can narrow the arteries atherosclerosis.
This condition, called coronary artery disease, causes most heart attacks. During a heart attack, a plaque can rupture and spill cholesterol and other substances into the bloodstream. A blood clot forms at the site of the rupture. If the clot is large, it can block blood flow through the coronary artery, starving the heart of oxygen and nutrients ischemia. Another cause of a heart attack is a spasm of a coronary artery that shuts down blood flow to part of the heart muscle.
Using tobacco and illicit drugs, such as cocaine, can cause a life-threatening spasm. Certain factors contribute to the unwanted buildup of fatty deposits atherosclerosis that narrows arteries throughout your body. You can improve or eliminate many of these risk factors to reduce your chances of having a first or another heart attack. Complications are often related to the damage done to your heart during a heart attack, which can lead to:.
It's never too late to take steps to prevent a heart attack — even if you've already had one. Here are ways to prevent a heart attack.
Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of satisfied Mayo Clinic patients. In some cases, it may not even be described as pain. Instead, it may feel more like pressure or squeezing in the chest. Chest pain or chest discomfort is caused by an insufficient supply of oxygen-rich blood to your heart.
During a heart attack, you may feel this pain in the center of the chest. It can last for a few minutes and disappear, or it may recur after a short break. This symptom is a warning sign of blocked or narrowed arteries. Heart attack pain may not be confined to the chest area. Pain or discomfort in your arm, back, neck, jaw, or stomach can also be heart attack-related.
But many people do not associate pain in these areas with having a heart attack — which may prevent them from getting immediate medical attention.
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