Heart Attack & Stroke Warning Signs

Symptoms of heart disease and stroke should not be ignored and require urgent medical attention. Recognizing the early signs of a heart attack or stroke can help a person survive and decrease damage to the brain.

Significance

• According to the National Center for Health Statistics, heart attacks and strokes caused the deaths of more than 800,000 Americans in 2005.

Types

• Early symptoms that a stroke is occurring include a sudden headache, dizziness, trouble walking, difficulty speaking or understanding words, vision problems and numbness on one side of the body.

Types

• Heart attack warning signs may include breathing problems, pain in the jaw, neck, arm, stomach or chest, heartburn, irregular heartbeat, nausea or vomiting and fainting.

Features

• Symptoms of stroke may be sudden and only occur once the stroke has begun. Symptoms of a heart attack may not be obvious and can differ by the strength of the heart attack.

Considerations

• According to the Mayo Clinic, warning signs of a heart attack may differ in men and women, and women are less likely than men to have obvious signs like pain in the chest.

Time Frame

• Warning signs of heart disease and stroke may build up over time, while others are sudden and last only a few minutes. Treatment for certain types of strokes must be started within three hours of when symptoms started.

Warning

• Warning signs of stroke or heart attack should not be ignored because the sooner a person with a stroke or heart attack is treated, the less likely they are to have significant damage or die as a result.