How to differentiate a Heartattack from Muscle Pain

[Evil Genius]

Hi Guys, the title brings it to the point. How can i differentiate between a heart attack or muscle pain? I´ve googled a little bit but i cant find something that really helps. Is there something like a rule of thumb for recognizing heart attacks? thanks! bye Eg

[nabraxas]

most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help. Here are signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

*

Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

* Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

* Shortness of breath. May occur with or without chest discomfort.

* Other signs: These may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness

As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

If you or someone you're with has chest discomfort, especially with one or more of the other signs, don't wait longer than a few minutes (no more than 5) before calling for help. ... Get to a hospital right away.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4595

[Evil Genius]

Hi Nabraxas, thanks for this! To me, It almost seems to be impossible to differentiate it from Muscle Pain! Ok, then better safe than sorry! bye Eg

[El Barto]

if your not dead in a couple mins its just Muscle Pain

if you are dead it was proberly a heart attack

[Evil Genius]

yeah right. Sometimes it can really be that easy! I´ll definately see ya later! Without being dead. bye Eg

[chilli]

Muscle pain is almost always a sharp or distinct pain, whereas heart pain is referred and indistinct. Muscle pain will usually manifest as a sharp pain in a distinct area, whilst heart pain will usually manifest as a kind of crushing pain.

From Wikipedia:

"Features of the pain suggest of cardiac ischaemia are describing the pain as heaviness; radiation of the pain to neck, jaw or left arm; sweating; nausea; palpitations; the pain coming upon exertion; dizziness; shortness of breath and a "sense of impending doom."

Also, just because you have heart related pain doesn't actually mean you are having a heart attack, it may be angina. You should still see a doctor though.

[Evil Genius]

Hi IB, thanks for that! Thats exactly what i was looking for! It doesnt hurt when i dont move so i´m a little bit confused. I´ll probably visit my Cardio Doc as soon as possible. I´m convinced! bye Eg

[simon_marklar]

i once experienced all those symptoms that nabraxas posted. everything when white, my chest felt like something was sitting on it, i was sweating, confused, dizzy, unable to stand up, pain shooting up my left arm and in my left index finger... shit.. thats scary... i just dismissed it as it happened when i was on a large coffee dose. i ditn get to a hospital... holy crap im... (probably jumping to conclusions) i better tell a doctor, fuck thats scary shit..

[apothecary]

I heard recently that coughing while experiencing a heart attack extends the attack itself, allowing you to live longer.

[Legba]

So a filterless cigarette could extend your life? Ironic.

Seriously thou, with a Myocardial Infarcton (MI) , seconds count.

Definitely go get checked out if you have any concerns EG.

[chilli]

Hi IB, thanks for that! Thats exactly what i was looking for! It doesnt hurt when i dont move so i´m a little bit confused. I´ll probably visit my Cardio Doc as soon as possible. I´m convinced! bye Eg

If it only hurts when you move it is more likely to be muscular pain... do you mean it hurts when you do certain movements, or when you are active?

[Evil Genius]

Hi IB, It doesnt hurts when i dont move. It seems that it wasnt a stroke but some Heart Pain though! Watering Cacti can be quite stressy! bye Eg

[chilli]

Hi IB, It doesnt hurts when i dont move. It seems that it wasnt a stroke but some Heart Pain though! Watering Cacti can be quite stressy! bye Eg

What I was asking is what do you mean by "when I don't move"? Do you mean it hurts if you are exerting yourself or just when you move in a certain way or breathe in etc?

Pain from the heart muscle itself will be dull and continuous, and not affected by your body's position or certain movements, although it will probably become worse if you are exerting yourself.

Muscular pain from the chest wall will be sharp and will be affected by movement such as breathing or moving certain muscles and body position.

It is also possible to have sharp pain from the heart lining, which is called pericarditis and may be affected by movement or your body's position, but this condition is relatively rare and is usually caused by a virus or sometimes as a result of certain chemotherapy or other drugs.

Anyway, if you are worried don't waste time getting a diagnosis from us, go to the doctor already!

[Evil Genius]

Hi IB, i meant that it hurts when i moved in a certain way! Thanks for your Input! Its greatly appreciated!

Meanwhile i´ve took my lazy ass to the Doc. I should mention that it came from the heart but it wasnt a stroke. My laziness is going to kill me one day....but not this time.

[devance]

Sounds like angina.

If not that not something to worry about

Nitrous oxide is a biologicaly used gas, but many don't think it has a naturaly biological part of the biosystem.

Dentist use it for good reason.

For instance angina patiiest can be givin nitroglycerin

The explosive in dynomite.

The body breaks it into down into Nitrous oxide and there by creating a natural expansion of the heart dialation arterys, in a difficult period of the angina patient..

But not of much use with a heart attack.

Vitamin E and C and bioflavanoids which as in the skin of fruits are the real way to get the stuff.

The peel of a fruit has the most.

And is thediscarded rather sad.

[Torsten]

I had this sharp pain in my left arm the other day and immediately though it might be a heart attack. So my blood pressure and heart rate skyrocketed and I broke out in a sweat. After a few minutes I cam to the conclusion is was a muscle pain .

It made me think of the same question EG has asked and I am glad IB had the answer. Mind you IB, the pain was irrespective of muscle movement.

[chilli]

I had this sharp pain in my left arm the other day and immediately though it might be a heart attack. So my blood pressure and heart rate skyrocketed and I broke out in a sweat. After a few minutes I cam to the conclusion is was a muscle pain .

It made me think of the same question EG has asked and I am glad IB had the answer. Mind you IB, the pain was irrespective of muscle movement.

My friend suddenly felt fatigued and tired, went to bed and died of heart failure when he was 25 so for a couple of years I thought I was having a heart attack pretty much every five minutes, with or without pain. I have had most of this info drilled into me by the old lady - and I don't mean my mum, in fact she's probably the one that instilled the fear there in the first place! Sometimes I am scared when I am falling asleep because I think I am dying... in fact, sleep is a pretty creepy analogy for death when you think about it.

Yes, Torsten it is not necessary that the pain will be exacerbated or eased by certain movement, but that is one sign that it is not your heart. For instance, I sometimes have muscle spasms in my intercostal muscles and sometimes also in my arm, but I have finally accepted that these sharp spasm type pains are not due to the heart, but probably just a result of anxiety, prior strain, dehydration, diet deficiency or a combination of all of these! During that period though I was convinced these were a harbinger of my impending and certain death

[Hagakure]

get some fish oil into your diet

[chilli]

get some fish oil into your diet

Who and why?

Actually, even though I am a vegetarian I have recently started taking omega oil tablets that contain fish oil, I am not sure how to justify that one to myself at the moment, so I just ignore the contradiction.

[Evil Genius]

Hi IB, just think about the Movie JAWS everytime you eat fish! Fish are bad, mkay!

[Hagakure]

fish oil is very good for your heart.

the omega 3 fatty acids are good for health.

japanese eat a lot more fish than we do and have hardly any heart disease at all.

same with eskimos and other cultures that primarily eat fish products.

edit: has anyone heard of the "aquatic ape" theory. basically implies that our ancestors relied uopn bodies of water for the primary source of their food. an ape that spent most its time in and around the ocean has a reason to loose all of its hair. baboons and other african planes apes and monkeys all kept their fur. why did our ancestors loose it.

then ther is the requirement for fatty acids like omega 3. if we evolved up with eating lots of fish we would not have selective pressure on any ways of making these lipids ourselves.

Edited September 7, 2007 by Hagakure

[nabraxas]

I heard recently that coughing while experiencing a heart attack extends the attack itself, allowing you to live longer.

i've heard that as well, also:

Aspirin can reduce the risk of death if taken as directed by a doctor as soon as a heart attack is suspected. The FDA says that as little as one-half (160 mg) of a regular-strength aspirin tablet reduces the risk of death by up to 23 percent if administered when a heart attack is suspected and continued for 30 days thereafter. Aspirin taken during a suspected heart attack can also lessen the damaging effects of the heart attack.

http://www.bayeraspirin.com/asp_hd.htm

even though I am a vegetarian I have recently started taking omega oil tablets that contain fish oil, I am not sure how to justify that one to myself at the moment, so I just ignore the contradiction.

you could take flax seed oil capsules instead, they also contain an omega 3 -- alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

[chilli]

i've heard that as well, also:

http://www.bayeraspirin.com/asp_hd.htm

Yep, aspirin is a blood thinner and a standard preventative treatment for people at risk of heart attack and stroke... didn't know that about it being taken when having a heart attack though.

Wifey says 300mg of dissolvable aspirin at the first sign of heart pain, the reason being that when the cholesterol plaque on the wall of the artery bursts, it starts attracting platelets and the blood in the area starts to bind to it and clot. Aspirin works by preventing the platelets from adhering to the plaque, thus preventing the clot from forming.

you could take flax seed oil capsules instead, they also contain an omega 3 -- alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

I think the stuff I have has flax oil and something else in addition to the fish oil... nabraxas, do you or Hagakure know if fish oil contains anything you can't get elsewhere? Thanks.

The fishy direction this thread has taken reminds me of a different version of a song we had at church when I was a kid:

ORIGINAL VERSION:

Anoint me with fresh oil,

Fill me spirit of God

Help me see your purpose,

Understand all of your ways

AQUATIC APE VERSION:

Anoint me with fish oil,

Fill me spirit of cod

Help me see your porpoise,

Understand all of your waves

The Aquatic Apes would also be a cool name for a band.

Edited September 8, 2007 by IllegalBrain

[ajna]

hemp seed is another good vegetarian source of EFAs IB ;)

kinda glad to hear i'm not the only one concerned about heart problems, however i've concluded that mine are all symptoms of anxiety.

i just quit coffee because i realised it was harbouring this anxiety cycle, i havent been a daily drinker for that long but just one coffee in the morning would result in irregular heatbeats that night and angina randomly through the day. then i'd get concerned about my health, the anxiety would rise, my heart would play up more, other symptoms started to present themselves like shortness of breath, a weird rumble sensation in my chest...you get the picture. it's been about a week since i had coffee and all symptoms are subsiding, although i still have bouts of anxiety but that has happened most of my life.

obviously heart health is a very serious concern, definitely get a pro opinion if you are unsure, but i thought i'd add my two bits as an example of how you can turn youself into a hypochondriac if you arent careful! lol

[apothecary]

Ok, I made the same mistaken assumption that ALA was substitutable for fish oil omega 3's but it appears they are indeed different.

ALA being short chain omega 3 and fish oil being long chain omega 3.

The long chain is supposedly what makes it so beneficial.

Obviously a combination of both is best, but I doubt anyone in western society is ALA deficient, considering it is a major component of soya lecithin, which is in pretty much all processed food (good emulsifier).