What Does Back Pain From Heart Attack Feel Like
While chest discomfort is the most common symptom of a heart attack, some people may experience back pain or pressure. This and other atypical heart attack symptoms are more common in females than males. Every year, approximately 805,000 people in the United States experience a heart attack,
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1 in 5 of these occur with the person being unaware it is happening. While chest pain is the most common warning sign of a heart attack, there can be other signs that range in severity. Some of these atypical symptoms include back pain, upper abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness,
Sometimes, people may misinterpret atypical heart attack symptoms as those resulting from another cause, such as anxiety or heartburn, These symptoms may lead to a delay in seeking care. Additionally, females are more likely than males to experience atypical symptoms, which may explain delays in diagnosing and treating heart attacks in females compared with males.
- This article will explain back pain as a symptom of a heart attack, along with other signs of a heart attack, how heart attacks affect females, and when to seek urgent care.
- Experiences of back pain due to a heart attack will differ between individuals.
- However, some people describe the pain as a feeling of pressure or tightness in the upper back, similar to having a rope tied around their chest and back.
Back pain due to a heart attack may be present at the top of the back. Females are also more likely to experience pain in the shoulder, back, jaw, or arm during a heart attack. Additionally, dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting may accompany back pain.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both males and females. However, both patients and healthcare professionals may miss signs of a heart attack in females. This may be because females can experience heart attacks differently. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), some studies suggest that silent heart attacks are more common in women than in men.
While females are also likely to experience chest pain, they are more likely to experience other symptoms than males. These include:
shortness of breath vomiting back pain jaw pain tiredness
If a person experiences a heart attack, they may notice the following symptoms :
Chest pain: This generally involves discomfort or a feeling of heaviness in the center or left center of the chest. This is the most common symptom. Arm pain: This involves discomfort in one or both arms. Shoulder pain: This involves radiating pain in the shoulders, jaw, or neck and is more common in females. Sweating: Without a cause, excessive sweating can be a symptom. Nausea: This involves feeling sick or vomiting. Fatigue: People may feel excessively tired for no apparent reason, sometimes for multiple days. This symptom is more common in females.
However, symptoms of heart attacks can greatly vary between individuals. A person may also not notice any symptoms — people call these silent heart attacks, According to the AHA, if a person experiences any warning signs of a heart attack, they should seek medical help immediately.
shortness of breathdiscomfort in the upper bodychest discomfortbreaking out in cold sweat nausea lightheadedness
An experienced medical team can provide the most effective care and rapid transport to the hospital. The following are the answers to some frequently asked questions about how heart attacks can cause back pain.
Contents
What kind of pain do you feel before a heart attack?
What are the symptoms of heart attack? – The major symptoms of a heart attack are
- Chest pain or discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center or left side of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.
- Feeling weak, light-headed, or faint. You may also break out into a cold sweat.
- Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back.
- Pain or discomfort in one or both arms or shoulders.
- Shortness of breath. This often comes along with chest discomfort, but shortness of breath also can happen before chest discomfort.
Other symptoms of a heart attack could include unusual or unexplained tiredness and nausea or vomiting. Women are more likely to have these other symptoms.,
Where does your back hurt before a heart attack?
While chest discomfort is the most common symptom of a heart attack, some people may experience back pain or pressure. This and other atypical heart attack symptoms are more common in females than males. Every year, approximately 805,000 people in the United States experience a heart attack,
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 1 in 5 of these occur with the person being unaware it is happening.
- While chest pain is the most common warning sign of a heart attack, there can be other signs that range in severity.
- Some of these atypical symptoms include back pain, upper abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness,
Sometimes, people may misinterpret atypical heart attack symptoms as those resulting from another cause, such as anxiety or heartburn, These symptoms may lead to a delay in seeking care. Additionally, females are more likely than males to experience atypical symptoms, which may explain delays in diagnosing and treating heart attacks in females compared with males.
This article will explain back pain as a symptom of a heart attack, along with other signs of a heart attack, how heart attacks affect females, and when to seek urgent care. Experiences of back pain due to a heart attack will differ between individuals. However, some people describe the pain as a feeling of pressure or tightness in the upper back, similar to having a rope tied around their chest and back.
Back pain due to a heart attack may be present at the top of the back. Females are also more likely to experience pain in the shoulder, back, jaw, or arm during a heart attack. Additionally, dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting may accompany back pain.
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both males and females.
- However, both patients and healthcare professionals may miss signs of a heart attack in females.
- This may be because females can experience heart attacks differently.
- According to the American Heart Association (AHA), some studies suggest that silent heart attacks are more common in women than in men.
While females are also likely to experience chest pain, they are more likely to experience other symptoms than males. These include:
shortness of breath vomiting back pain jaw pain tiredness
If a person experiences a heart attack, they may notice the following symptoms :
Chest pain: This generally involves discomfort or a feeling of heaviness in the center or left center of the chest. This is the most common symptom. Arm pain: This involves discomfort in one or both arms. Shoulder pain: This involves radiating pain in the shoulders, jaw, or neck and is more common in females. Sweating: Without a cause, excessive sweating can be a symptom. Nausea: This involves feeling sick or vomiting. Fatigue: People may feel excessively tired for no apparent reason, sometimes for multiple days. This symptom is more common in females.
However, symptoms of heart attacks can greatly vary between individuals. A person may also not notice any symptoms — people call these silent heart attacks, According to the AHA, if a person experiences any warning signs of a heart attack, they should seek medical help immediately.
shortness of breathdiscomfort in the upper bodychest discomfortbreaking out in cold sweat nausea lightheadedness
An experienced medical team can provide the most effective care and rapid transport to the hospital. The following are the answers to some frequently asked questions about how heart attacks can cause back pain.
Can blocked arteries cause lower back pain?
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE CLOGGED ARTERIES? – Clogged arteries or atherosclerosis don’t often show signs until discomforting symptoms such as pain or cramping happen. Some people experience pain in their lower back and legs, which can be a tell-tale sign of peripheral arterial blockage.
Ankle-brachial index (ABI): Comparing the blood pressure in your ankle to the blood pressure in your arm is a standard test. Your doctor at VISP takes your blood pressure with a standard sphygmomanometer and uses advanced ultrasound imaging tools to assess blood flow and pressure and find arterial blockages. A physical exam: During this exam, we will look for indicators of PAD such as high blood pressure, unnatural sounds in your arteries, a weak pulse near a narrowed artery, and wound indications in places with restricted blood flow. Blood tests: We take a blood sample to measure triglycerides and cholesterol levels and look for any signs of diabetes. Angiography: The doctor will be able to see your blood vessels using an x-ray imaging test. Angiography is a technique for examining blocked, narrow, enlarged, or deformed arteries in the heart, brain, limbs, and abdomen.
Does angina cause back pain?
Angina is chest pain or discomfort that occurs if an area of your heart muscle does not get enough oxygen-rich blood. It is a common symptom of coronary heart disease, which limits or cuts off blood flow to the heart. There are several types of angina, and the symptoms depend on which type you have.
Angina chest pain, called an angina event, can happen when your heart is working hard. It can go away when you stop to rest again, or it can happen at rest. This pain can feel like pressure or squeezing in your chest. It also can spread to your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back, just like a heart attack.
Angina pain can even feel like an upset stomach. Symptoms can be different for women and men. To diagnose angina, your doctor will ask you about your signs and symptoms and may run blood tests, take an X-ray, or order tests, such as an electrocardiogram (EKG), an exercise stress test, or cardiac catheterization, to determine how well your heart is working.
Should I go to the ER for upper back pain?
Upper and middle back pain, in most cases, does get better with time and rest. If your back pain is unrelenting and not relieved by rest, you should immediately visit the closest emergency department. If the pain is accompanied by any of the following symptoms, you should also seek emergency care: Fever.
What are the symptoms of a heart problem?
What are the symptoms of heart disease? – Sometimes heart disease may be “silent” and not diagnosed until a person experiences signs or symptoms of a heart attack, heart failure, or an arrhythmia. When these events happen, symptoms may include 1
- : Chest pain or discomfort, upper back or neck pain, indigestion, heartburn, nausea or vomiting, extreme fatigue, upper body discomfort, dizziness, and shortness of breath.
- Arrhythmia: Fluttering feelings in the chest (palpitations).
- : Shortness of breath, fatigue, or swelling of the feet, ankles, legs, abdomen, or neck veins.
Learn the Facts About Heart Disease
About 695,000 people in the United States died from heart disease in 2021—that’s 1 in every 5 deaths.1,2
Can stress cause heart and back pain?
How anxiety causes chest pain – When you’re anxious, your brain sends a surge of adrenaline and cortisol through your body. These hormones immediately trigger a rapid rise in your heart rate and blood pressure. As a result, many people experience chest pain and sweating, or have a hard time breathing.
- The sudden boost of adrenaline can narrow the arteries in your heart and attach to cells inside the heart.
- This condition, called stress cardiomyopathy, mimics a heart attack, from symptoms all the way down to changes in your heart’s electrical activity.
- Though stress cardiomyopathy usually heals within a few days or weeks, it may lead to weak heart muscles, congestive heart failure, and abnormal heart rhythms.
Levels of adrenaline and cortisol don’t return to normal in people with anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronically high hormone levels may trigger a panic attack (causing symptoms that feel like a heart attack) and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.