Learn to recognize a heart attack
Smoking, unhealthy diet and obesity, lack of exercise, alcohol use, high blood pressure and diabetes. These are all risk factors for heart attacks. Prevention is better than cure. A healty lifestyle can prevent serious health risks.
If you ask about the symptoms of a heart attack, most people think of chest pain. Over the last couple of decades, however, scientists have learned that heart attack symptoms aren’t always so clear-cut. Symptoms may show up in different ways and can depend on a number of factors, such as whether you’re a man or a woman, what type of heart disease you have, and how old you are. Uncovering more information can help you learn when to help yourself and your loved ones.
Heart attacks don’t always come on suddenly and drop you to your knees. Here are nine early warning signs that might occur one month or even earlier before a heart attack.
1. Shortness of breath
Dyspnea of shortness of breath often occurs among both men and women for up to 6 months prior to having a heart attack. When the heart muscle is not pumping effectively, pressure can build up within the lungs and the chambers of the heart, creating the sensation of breathlessness.
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