Knowing the early warning signs of heart attack is critical for prompt recognition and treatment. Many heart attacks start slowly, unlike the dramatic portrayal often seen in the movies. A person experiencing a heart attack may not even be sure of what is happening. Heart attack symptoms vary among individuals, and even a person who has had a previous heart attack may have different symptoms in a subsequent heart attack. Although chest pain or pressure is the most common symptom of a heart attack, heart attack victims may experience a diversity of symptoms that include:
- pain, fullness, and/or squeezing sensation of the chest;
- jaw pain, toothache, headache;
- shortness of breath;
- nausea, vomiting, and/or general epigastric (upper middle abdomen) discomfort;
- sweating;
- heartburn and/or indigestion;
- arm pain (more commonly the left arm, but may be either arm);
- upper back pain;
- general malaise (vague feeling of illness); and
- no symptoms (approximately one quarter of all heart attacks are silent, without chest pain or new symptoms and silent heart attacks are especially common among patients with diabetes mellitus).
via Heart Attack Symptoms and Early Warning Signs – MedicineNet.