KEY POINTS

  • Heart attacks are akin to thieves in the night; you won't know when they will occur
  • What you can do is to keep yourself healthy and to reduce your risk
  • Be aware of the symptoms, especially one that occurs in the left arm

A heart attack is a dangerous medical emergency that has already taken the lives of many people all over the world. This happens when the heart suffers from a blockage that prevents blood flow in the heart. When this condition occurs, one could suffer from a heart attack. Immediate and timely medical intervention has always been prescribed. The best part is to understand or know the symptoms and do some proper intervention.

Now, what if you are already experiencing the symptoms, and since you didn’t know that what you have been feeling was a heart attack symptom, you just neglected it? This could prove to be very dangerous for you. Symptoms of heart attack must be treated as a warning so that you could still do something to alleviate it. One of the commonly misinterpreted symptoms occurs in the left arm.

left arm pain heart attack
left arm pain heart attack 3557203 - Pixabay

Identifying the Feeling

The left-arm heart attack symptom is that feeling of pain that travels from the chest to the left arm. Since it is not as alarming as a very tight and painful feeling in the chest, there are a lot of people who would normally brush the feeling off. They would justify it as simple chest pain or a simple minor sensation.

This isn’t the case. This left arm symptom must not just be neglected because it is already a deadly occurrence. Other symptoms that you might want to be on the lookout for would include tight squeezing in the center of the chest. You may also feel pressure or tightness.

There are instances when the tightness in the chest is not treated as a heart attack symptom but as indigestion. You may also feel sweating, lightheadedness, shortness of breath, vomiting, and anxiety.

Risk Factors

There are certain factors that put you at a higher risk of suffering from a heart attack. According to Express’ report, the British Heart Foundation revealed that coronary heart disease is the culprit behind the 64,000 deaths that occur in the UK every year. As per the numbers, it can be said that someone dies from the disease every 8 minutes. As to the number of individuals suffering from the disease in the UK, they account for 2.3 million people.

Thus, when you reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease, you are also lowering your risk of a heart attack. Make sure that you take care of your blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Don’t allow them to spiral uncontrollably, else you run the risk of suffering from coronary heart disease, and eventually a heart attack.