so I’ve been thinking with the current chest pains and body pains I’m getting and had for several years and not knowing if it’s heart related or just normal pains, what has your heart attack felt like? Has it been obvious where it’s took your breath or unbearable pain etc?
Sorry if this is a sensitive question if so I’ll happily delete the post.
Dear You
I think that its a great question and certainly for me it is not a sensitive one, in fact far from it as it is one that I also raised with the medical profession.
I had a massive heart attack that should have killed me stone dead { cardiologist words not mine } he was so shocked after all my tests to see me sitting in his waiting room and not on the ward or in a wheelchair that he double checked he had the right person.
I felt completely nothing and can only { like him } presume that it happened in my sleep.
So in my case the answer is no I did not know about the heart attack, I was ill of course with everything that we now recognise as heart failure { list to long to repeat }
I asked the Cardiologist that didn't having a heart attack meant clutching at my chest and falling about in pain? he said that I had been watching to many movies and that most don't know much about it or it comes on gradually, the pain building up.
We are all different and all illnesses will leave their own unique stamp on us.
Its how we survive is the most important part.
Hope this answer helps
Take care
Thankyou for the reply and glad that you are all ok now
Hello 
A very good question
Heart attacks can affect everyone differently and most are not like the dramatic portrayal you see on TV dramas etc
I had 3 and none were the same
I think my first one for quite a while I knew something was not right I would wake quite a few mornings with this very strange sensation in my chest feeling like a panic attack but suffering with anxiety and panic attacks for years I knew it wasn't
I was also out of breath for at least a year before it happened
But when I first had one I felt my usual ok and then all of a sudden I was bending down and every time I stood up I was really out of breath then after doing this a few times I stood up and not only was I out of breath I felt such pain in my face like someone had hit me in the face with a brick and as soon as that happened I felt a slight crushing feeling in the middle of my chest then pains down both arms
I had to compose myself I was outside the front door and I came in took an Aspirin for some strange reason and this happened midday and was not till 9 at night when all the other symptoms had gone but I was left with aching down both arms and remembering that little crushing sensation in the middle of my chest I decided I needed to be checked out and was told I had a heart attack
The second one was nothing like the first just a little picking sensation and indigestion that went on all day so went to get checked out and it was another heart attack
The third one was the same but milder feelings than the second one like indigestion with a pricking sensation it was a heart attack but they said midler than the other two
I think deep down you know your own body and looking back if you feel something is not right then you should get checked out x
Thankyou for replying.
I think that’s reassuring in the fact as you’ve said you knew it felt different to the anxiety and panic attacks. It is a very fine line I think. Also with you saying about the pain in your face and arms and the severe numbness then again that tells me you would know something pretty serious is wrong.
It is just frustrating because we would be down the hospital every day with the way we feel at times. It’s so hard
Hello
After the first heart attack and just been sent out with a cocktail of meds I never felt safe and I always knew that was not the end of it somehow if you know what I mean
The second and third heart attack were nothing like the first one and had I not had that first one and having this doubt I don't think I would have gone to the Hospital with how they felt to be honest
I did make a few trips in between all this which were false alarms but they always said they would rather you go and it be a false alarm than not and it could be one
I think having the angiogram in the end and it came to light I needed a triple Bypass was in a way a relief because as I said deep down I knew something more needed doing than a cocktail of meds
How are you doing at the moment ? x
I’m not sure how I feel to be honest. Had several tests over the past 5 years and came back ok. A recent echocardiogram showed elevated pressure in lower right chamber and same on the aorta I think it was. I’ve been told to carry on as normal keep exercising etc and if I feel anything different then to ring 111/999. But it’s knowing at what point do you ring them. I could ring them all the time as I’ve always got chest pains. Don’t tend to have them whilst I’m sleeping. Maybe the odd time. I find myself thinking have I got this pain in my arm and face or am I thinking it if that makes sense
Hello
It totally makes sense to me what you are saying and when they say that if you feel any different phone 111 or 999 even after Bypasses I feel something different every day and telling us that can leave us feeling confused and I can imagine exactly how you feel
But if ever you are in any doubt go with your gut instinct as we say as usually that is always right
I really do hope things settle down for you x
Thankyou. I think you just want answers for what you are feeling but when they come back and say everything is ok then it’s hard because you are like well why am I getting this pain and feeling! It’s just a vicious circle and draining
Hello
I know exactly how you feel and I do understand not that it helps you any but know others have or do feel exactly like you do
I wished I had the answer because I would share what it was if I had
Take a day at a time I think that is all we can do sometimes x
Thankyou for replying. So you know straight away that this ain’t right with how you felt
My advice is simple. Unless you have discussed your chest and body pains with a health professional (like a GP) you should do soonest. There are a number of conditions that cause chest pain including angina and gastric problems like reflux disease and these need to be checked out properly since they are a sign that things are not as they should be all to ensure your continued well being.
Here's a slightly different take on your question.
We all have a better chance of identifying genuine heart attack symptoms if we minimise the risk of any false symptoms that might be confused with a heart attack.
For example, anyone who smokes will almost inevitably eventually suffer from GERD/heartburn. It's already been mentioned in a couple of posts that indigestion is commonly confused with heart attacks. So smokers get hit twice in this respect.
Firstly their risk of a heart attack is massively increased by smoking, but secondly both they and any medical professional will find it harder to understand the cause of their symptoms because smokers will almost certainly also have chronic indigestion problems.
My event was more of what some people might call a classic attack.Strange dizzy light headed feeling to start with which I had never had before, then the breathing got progressively worse, I was actually taking my asthma pumps thinking that this was the problem with the breathing, then the crushing central chest pain that got worse over time.
When that happens you just know, or I did anyway. Very scary.
Thankyou for the reply and sorry to hear about your heart attack. I guess with you saying you just know then I take it it’s something that feels very uncomfortable and obvious?
My counsellor once said to me the pains I’ve been getting for the past 5 years what’s the worse that’s happened? Well nothing apart from me getting very anxious and ended up at A&E. So she said there’s your reassurance. If it’s anything significantly different to the pains you’ve had then call 111/999
It starts off as discomfort but quickly starts turning into a restricting crushing central chest pain and my breathing got progressively worse.
Anxiety seems to go hand in hand after a heart event alot of the time.I still get anxious with every little pain or twinge, even though these feel nothing like the HA. I will hopefully get there in the end and have more good days than bad with regards to the chest pains.
That last bit of advice from your counsellor is spot on.
Sure. My experience was i had a cough leading up to it for several weeks before hand. Almost just like a tickly cough. Sometimes i could hear a raspy noise when breathing when at rest in bed. A cackling noise. 3 days leading up to bad things, i had fluid on lungs and couldn't lay in bed to sleep. I mistakenly thought it was a bad cheat infection... BIG MISTAKE. (Things could have been so different if i had got checked out before this point, Doh!)
Then on the day i had a feeling to empty my bowls and instantly felt the dread! Something is drastically wrong! (iv been here before with panic attacks, this could be one)... But got downstairs, told folk to call for help. Sweating all over. Real hot. Laid outside on floor with T shirt off in winter!! Was real hot... But that's it... No pains. Ambulance came, still hadnt had a clear sign of what happened... 90 mins waiting to see a doc in A and E, 5 minutes after they gave me the GTN spray, BAMMM. medic says, your having a heart attack right now. Your blood test says so.... Other than that, wouldn't have a clue. Rushed to another hospital as i still couldn't get into An E.
.. Felt ok for the next 24hrs. Couldn't sleep. Well. Hadnt slept for days! Just needed a good sleep. Then they pumped me full of drugs....this is when i went downhill Fast!!
5 days of hanging onto dear life. Praying. Meds not working. Coughing my soul up. Awful times. 50-90 year olds coming and going as they had heart attacks and stents. In and out. Oh no. Not 36 year old me... Im in for the long haul. Heart failure at its best. 12%ejection rate. Afib. Myocarditis. Etc.
How did this happen. I was in the gym a few days before hand lifting weights and hitting the punch bag. Crazy. One and probably only thing you pray for in icu, is more TIME........ I vowed never to work 80hours plus again. Never to miss my sons football games. Never to miss cuddling my kids. Just more time. Thats my story. Good luck
bloody hell mate that sounds awful.. it is crazy. Like you said you was in the gym few days before lifting weights and on the lunch bag then all this happens!! So apart from your cough and not able to lay down because of the fluid you wouldn’t have known otherwise?
Any family history of heart failure? No chest pains or anything in the months prior?
Yeh. Leading up to it just those subtle signs early on in the weeks ans months leading up to it. The cough and cackle. But i was taking this herb Yohimbe for ejection problems (now its clear it was heart problems all along).. This Yohimbe was super strength from America. Didnt realise it banned over here and can mess with the heart big time. After each few tablets on that, i would get that cackle sound the next morning.
Anyways, no, the actual heart attack was painless, but the sweating and the dread feeling that something bad was about to happen, was the real giveaway. Then laying down on the floor with my heart rate pounding. Its awful to say but its near enough identical to a full blown panic attack.
BUT, my heart attack wasnt the usual blockage type. My arteries were crystal clear. The surgeons were baffled. Still dont know what actually caused it. But i think it was actual heart failure that caused the symptoms leading up to it.... Oh i did get a tingling feeling in my left toes and in my left hand. Actually this was strong sign leading up to it and whilst in the ambulance. Left arm tingling. Like a dead arm, pins and needles type feeling.... I do wish i had acted upon those symptoms even up to 6 montha before hand. The tingling in toes/hand, raspy cough and even the erecting problems over the years. I did get checked in my mid 20s as i was having panic attacks/palpations , and it came back clear although heart was enlarged... So it was maybe something then....
Anyhow, all done and said... I NOW do get real chest pains,. Random sharp pains that are short lived, sometimes a dull ache type pain thats long lived.... And very few times where its woke me sweating in night.... Now i have been clinging to my phone with 999 typed in ready to press the green button many a times... Luckily never had to, touch wood... Its been 3 years so far....The chest pains can also be brought on by the mind. The very thought of thinking about it. Aniexity they like to call it. I do get this also... But the pains on there own do come along on their own too so its very real. Its always best to be safe than sorry like i was. Get checked by the doc id say.. Ask for 24 hour ECG. Any pains or symptoms, you press the button. They can pick up alot with those.
HA symptoms can vary a lot. Mine was in the artery behind the heart and the only signs I had were 3 days of the worst indigestion ever and pain in my back then on day 3 just a slight tingling started down my left arm and up my neck. It was only when the arm and neck tingling started that i suddenly though oh oh 999 time. The paramedics saw something on my ECG but when i got to A&E, the triage nurse completely ignored me and didn't even do a troponin test because I wasn't grey and sweating or clutching my chest. It was 5 hours before I was seen, troponin done and admitted immediately for an angiogram first thing next morning.
My pain was an aching chest that lasted 3 days. It was unusual in that absolutely nothing would relieve it. Most pain can be relieved by moving your body about.
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