Too Many People Ignore These
Warning Signs of a Heart Attack

That uncomfortable feeling in your chest...You think it's probably just indigestion, but it's not going away. You give some thought to the Chest Pain Center at Bridgeport Hospital, but what if it's not your heart? You'd feel so foolish. You don't want to put the Chest Pain Center staff through all that work for nothing.

Please come. We want you to put us through "all that work." We'll be delighted if we can tell you it's just indigestion. But if it isn't "just indigestion," delay can be fatal.

It's important to remember that heart attacks don't always hurt. But they usually do have symptoms. During a heart attack, you may feel some, all, or none of the symptoms below. They may subside, then return. Do not ignore these clues! Call 911 immediately. Take an aspirin if you have one in the house and wait for help to arrive. Do not drive yourself and do not ask someone to drive you to the Emergency Room. Your best chance to prevent permanent heart damage is to be treated within the first "Golden Hour" after the onset of symptoms such as these:

• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing, or pain in center of chest for more than 5-10 minutes. The pain may not be severe. It may spread to shoulders, neck, arms, jaw, or teeth. And remember, there may be no pain at all!
• Dizziness; fainting
• Nausea
• Sweating
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling of impending doom
• Jaw pain
• Indigestion that can not be relieved