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How can you tell if you've had a heart attack?

(5 posts)
  1. Crystalize
    Member

    I'm 56 and last week I suddenly became so nauseous, I ran to the bathroom and projectile vomited. about 15 minutes later, the same thing happened. I live alone with no friends or family living close by. I thought it was just food poisoning or the flu,
    I was so dizzy and felt so sick that I took a Gravol and a Prevacid and about 2 hours later I took Imodium because I was hardly conscious and was finding it hard not to faint on the way to and from the bathroom. I collapsed on my bed and slept for two days straight, only getting up to drink gingerale or water from big 2L bottles I put by my bed. Even though my cell phone was close by, I couldn't even call 911, I was so out of it. I live in Canada so calling an ambulance is no big expense but I couldn't call anyone.
    It took me over a week to feel well enough to walk outside. Even then, I was going to go to the corner store but only got about 20 ft. from my door before I nearly fainted again. For a few days I had lower back pain but I figured it was just from lying around so long.
    I went for my yearly physical about 2 months ago and my doctor did an EKG strip but never said anything was odd. I just wondered if I may have had a mild heart attack because my mom died of congestive heart failure and the doctors said she must have had 4 or 5 heart attacks previously. She never went to hospital for ANY of them but often would get bad pain in her lower back that left her bed-ridden for a week or 2.

    What should I do? Should I go to Emergency next time this happens, or what?

    Thank you for your help.

    .
    Oh, and I;m a woman. Never smoked, seldom drink. Slightly .... okay, pretty much over weight. Like 5' 7" 210
    Thanks Katharne, but I've had a few panic attacks in my life before but none that made me practically unconscious for 2 days and physically ill for over a week. Besides, I was lying in bed watchin TV when it happened. I wasn't nervous at all.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  2. Katharne
    Member

    you may be nervous and get a panic attack but, if u get cool flashes and blueness/paleness and sharp pains all 911 even (breathless) panic/anixety attack - The effects of a panic attack vary from person to person. Some, notably first-time sufferers, may call for emergency services. Many who experience a panic attack, mostly for the first time, fear they are having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown. Experiencing a panic attack has been said to be one of the most intensely frightening, upsetting and uncomfortable experiences of a person's life

    panic attack symtops -

    Palpitations, or accelerated heart rate
    Sweating
    Trembling or shaking
    Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
    Feeling of choking
    Chest pain or discomfort
    Nausea or abdominal distress
    Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint
    Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
    Fear of losing control or going insane
    Fear of dying
    Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
    Chills or hot flashes

    Posted 2 years ago #
  3. jimmymae2000
    Member

    The symptoms you describe are nothing like what I experienced while under heart attach. If you go to the hospital next time they will take a blood sample which can confirm or deny a real heart attach.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  4. Mary Boo
    Member

    Learn How to Tell if You've Had a Heart Attack
    Step 1Tell your doctor if you have been experiencing arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat. If your heart is beating too fast, it can feel like a rapid fluttering in your chest. However, if the nerves that regulate your heartbeat have been compromised, you may experience a rate that is too slow.

    Step 2Understand that nausea, vomiting, a rise in temperature and profuse sweating may accompany a heart attack. The reason for this isn't quite understood, beyond the fact that a heart attack can cause the body to throw its other internal systems into overdrive in response.
    READ MORE
    http://www.ehow.com/how_2048168_tell-youve-had-heart-attack.html

    Posted 2 years ago #
  5. Bud
    Member

    You should definitely go to the emergency room if it happens again. Do not hesitate. Even though you feel well now, you should see a cardiologist as soon as you can for a full workup. I do mean a FULL workup including complete history, and any tests that may be indicated. If you actually had a heart attack, even if you got through it and all the symptoms passed, a blood test would show the presence of certain enzymes that are associated with a myocardial infarction. (actual heart muscle damage). This blood test may only be able to show anything if taken within a few days of the "heart attack". Your mother's type of heart failure may not have involved heart muscle damage, but an enlarged left ventricle. You can be genetically predisposed to such a condition. (meaning it runs in the family) As I mentioned, if you feel it happening again, DO NOT WAIT call for an ambulance.

    Posted 2 years ago #

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