Pain in the upper body, including the arms, back, shoulders, neck, jaw or abdomen, are often warning signs of a heart attack. If the pain is located in the neck, back, jaw, throat or abdomen it may be a sign of heart disease.
For men: Pain will spread to the left shoulder, down the left arm or up to the chin. For women: Pain can be much more subtle. It may travel to the left or right arm, up to the chin, shoulder blades and upper back — or to abdomen (as nausea and/or indigestion and anxiety).
Neck pain isn't usually related to your heart. But sudden or severe neck pain could be a sign of a heart attack. If you're having a heart attack, you typically experience other symptoms along with neck pain, including: Arm, jaw, shoulder or upper back pain.
It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. with or without chest discomfort. may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
A heart attack may strike suddenly, but most people have warning signs and symptoms hours, days or weeks beforehand. One of the earliest warning signs of an impending heart attack is chest pain, or angina, that occurs repeatedly because of exertion and is then eased by rest.
Pre-Heart Attack Symptoms – Female
Men may feel pain and numbness in the left arm or the side of the chest. In women, these symptoms may appear on the right side. Women may experience unexplained exhaustion, or feel drained, dizzy or nauseous. Women may feel upper back pain that travels up into their jaw.
Many people expect a heart attack to come on suddenly. But research suggests that women experience symptoms for several weeks before a heart attack. A study published in 2003 of 515 women who had experienced a heart attack, reports 80 percent of women had at least 1 symptom at least 4 weeks before their heart attack.
Signs of a heart attack include:
- Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of the chest that comes on quickly and won't go away with rest. - Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. - Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
Call your doctor if you have neck pain that: Worsens in spite of self-care. Persists after several weeks of self-care. Radiates down your arms or legs.
Your neck may feel tender in the area of the artery. The pain often goes up the neck to the jaw, ear, or forehead. Some diseases can cause carotidynia. Your doctor will check for those.
Seek medical care for neck pain with numbness or loss of strength in the arms or hands or for pain that shoots into a shoulder or down an arm.
Pain in the shoulder, that radiates from the jaw down the arm and into the fingers, along with sweating and nausea. It is not a sharp pain but a persistent dull ache deep in the body.
A heart attack is a medical emergency in which the blood supply to the heart is suddenly blocked. Warning signs that occur a month beforehand could be chest discomfort, fatigue, and shortness of breath.
Some people have no symptoms. Common heart attack symptoms include: Chest pain that may feel like pressure, tightness, pain, squeezing or aching. Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulder, arm, back, neck, jaw, teeth or sometimes the upper belly.
chest pain – a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest. pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is spreading from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and tummy. feeling lightheaded or dizzy. sweating.
Lung issues, including infection (pneumonia) or a blood clot (pulmonary embolism) Muscle pain, such as inflammation or injury to the muscles in the chest wall. Other digestive issues, such as inflammation or spasms in the pancreas, gallbladder or esophagus. Panic attack, or very intense anxiety.
SMI warning signs
It can feel like an uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, or pain. Discomfort in other upper-body areas, such as one or both arms, the back, the neck, the jaw, or the stomach. Shortness of breath before or during chest discomfort. Breaking out in a cold sweat, or feeling nauseated or lightheaded.
A silent heart attack, also called a silent Ischemia, is a heart attack that has either no symptoms, minimal symptoms or unrecognized symptoms. A heart attack is not always as obvious as pain in your chest, shortness of breath and cold sweats.