by D. P. Noe

Created on: December 29, 2009   Last Updated: December 30, 2009

If you are experiencing chest discomfort, which may be in the form of a feeling of pressure, tightness, fullness, a sensation of an elephant sitting on your chest, or a squeezing that last more than 10 minutes with rest, you need to seek medical treatment.  These are all warning signs and symptoms of a heart attack or what is known in medical terms as a myocardial infarction.

Chest discomfort can be located in different areas, there is no one specific location. You may feel the discomfort in the middle of your chest, down one or both of your arms, pain in your neck or jaw, or pain between your shoulder blades. Many patients and in particular females may complain of feeling unusually fatigued or having shortness of breath for no apparent reason.

There are some additional symptoms that need immediate attention.  If you are experiencing extreme shortness of breath, feel dizzy or having periods where you are fainting, excessive diaphoresis (sweating), feel like your heart is kipping in your chest or any kind of unusual weakness, stop immediately and call 911 or your physician. Your physician will most likely instruct you to seek immediate medical help at the nearest emergency room. Do not get behind the wheel of the car and attempt to drive yourself, this could end up costing your life.

The symptoms of a heart attack occur because oxygen rich blood supply is cut off to the heart. The coronary arteries that are your hearts only blood supply may be completely blocked or be blocked by a blood clot. When the blood supply is cut off, the muscle of the heart becomes damaged. Time is crucial in this incidence. This is the reason for the urgency to get to the hospital to receive medical treatment. The artery to the heart can be opened with clot dissolving medications or you may need a cardiac procedure to be performed in the cath lab.

When you arrive in the ER you will receive immediate attention. An EKG will be done which is an electrical tracing of the heart. EKGs show changes when you are experiencing a heart attack. You can expect labs to be drawn, IV's to be started and chest X-Rays to be done. Most ERs now have in place protocols for immediate and prompt treatment of patients experiencing chest pain.

There are different cardiac procedures depending on your condition. Sometimes the blood clot dissolving medications may open the arteries or sometimes it may require a trip to the cath lab. You may end up with a cardiac cathetrization, which is a procedure where they insert a catheter through your groin to check the blood flow to your heart. Sometimes while doing this procedure an angioplasty may be performed or the placement of a stent to keep the diseased coronary artery opened.

The other option may be a coronary bypass procedure. They take a artery from your leg or arm and place it around the diseased coronary artery. They build a detour so that blood can flow to your heart. This procedure is known as open heart surgery

There is a term in the medical field that "time is muscle". Translated, that means the longer you wait, the more damage to your heart that can occur. Once heart muscle dies, you cannot bring it back. If you or anyone experiences any of the symptoms listed in this article, seek immediate medical treatment, it may save your life.

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