Heartburn or Heart Attack?

Christus St. John Hospital provides insight on which symptoms should prompt an immediate 911 call or ER visit.

There is a huge difference between heartburn and a heart attack, but often times they feel very much the same. So then how do you know when to take an antacid and when to seek medical care?

The short answer is that you should always seek medical care if you are experiencing any unfamiliar chest pain or tightness. But to help better understand your symptoms, CHRISTUS St. John Hospital offers guidance on differentiating a heart attack from indigestion in recognition of Cardiac Awareness Month

You missed lunch because of a hectic day, so come dinnertime you appease your growling stomach by eating a large meal and eating it fast. Shortly afterward you lie down on the couch to watch television or perhaps you feel guilty about overindulging and head to the gym. Either way, the burning sensation in your chest is undeniable. You predict heartburn, but there’s a chance the chest pain is a warning sign of a heart attack.

“Learning to tell the difference between heartburn and something more serious could be a matter of life and death,” said Rajinder Bhalla, M.D., cardiologist, Chief of Medicine at St. John Hospital.

So to help, here are the most common characteristics of heartburn you need to know:

• It usually occurs after eating or while lying down or bending
• It can be brief or last several hours
• You will notice a burning sensation in your chest that may start in your upper abdomen and radiate all the way to your neck
• You may even experience a sour taste in your mouth due to the back up of stomach acid into the esophagus
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It can sometimes be difficult or even impossible to tell what’s causing chest pain. The symptoms of a heart attack vary, which makes it hard to know whether a heart attack is the cause of your discomfort or something else, which is why it’s very important that you not self-diagnose and call your doctor immediately should you experience any of the following. Dr. Bhalla points out that it’s possible to experience a heart attack or cardiac arrest without chest pain, so don’t rule it out if you have other heart attack sings but no chest pain.

Common heart attack symptoms include:

• Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back
• Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach
• Shortness of breath before or along with chest pain
• Chest discomfort accompanied by a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness
• Fullness, indigestion or choking feeling (this can be easily confused with heartburn)
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat
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Dr. Bhalla recommends that should you experience any of the above symptoms you call 911 or seek immediate medical attention at your nearest hospital.

“The most common symptom of a heart attack in both men and women is chest pressure or discomfort,” said Dr. Bhalla. “But women are more likely to experience the other symptoms, like back or jaw pain, shortness of breath and nausea.”

In addition to knowing the symptoms of a heart attack, it is also important to note the risk factors so that you can determine if you are at higher risk for heart disease.

“There are two categories of risk factors for a heart attack. Those you can control and those you can’t,” Dr. Bhalla said. “The risk factors you can control are things like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, an unhealthy diet, high blood sugar and a lack of physical activity.”

Some of these risk factors, such as obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar, tend to occur together. When that happens it’s called metabolic syndrome. “A person with metabolic syndrome is twice as likely to develop heart disease,” said Dr. Bhalla.

There are risk factors associated with a heart attack that are beyond your control. Those are things like age and family history.

“The risk of heart disease increases in men after age 45 and for women after age 55. And if there is a family history of early heart disease, in either your father or a brother if you’re a man or your mother or a sister if you’re a woman, your chances of developing heart disease rises.”

If after understanding the symptoms of heartburn and a heart attack you still aren’t sure which you’re experiencing, CHRISTUS St. John Hospital always recommends you seek medical attention immediately. When in doubt, check it out!

For more information about CHRISTUS St. John Hospital and the services they offer, visit www.ChristusStJohn.org.