The signs and symptoms of a heart attack can vary, but the most common heart attack symptoms include:

• Pressure, tightness, pain, or squeezing sensation in the chest or arms that may spread to the neck, jaw, or back
• Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, or abdominal pain; may feel like you’re choking
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Cold Sweats
• Sudden dizziness or lightheadedness
• Rapid or irregular heartbeats

Every person is different and not everyone has the same symptoms or severity of symptoms. In fact, some people may experience a sudden heart attack without any warning signs or symptoms. This is called a “silent” myocardial infarction, or silent heart attack. Most people however, will have several of these signs or symptoms for hours, day, or even weeks before the heart attack occurs. Generally the earliest warning signaling is chest pain that is triggered by exertion and relieved by rest.

Women may experience different heart attack symptoms than men. For example, women may have a heart attack without any chest pressure. Instead, women often feel short of breath combined with upper back pressure and dizziness, which can sometimes be misdiagnosed as acid reflux, the flu, or just normal aging. Therefore, if you are experiencing any of these symptoms it is important to always confer with a medical professional to ensure that it is not a more serious condition.