When Is Chest Pain an Emergency?

A cardiologist shares when to get help

If you’re having chest pain, pressure in your neck, or shortness of breath, you could be having a heart attack — but often, people ignore or don’t notice their symptoms, says Thanh Nguyen, DO, an interventional cardiologist at Adventist Health.

“Men tend to ignore their symptoms,” he explains. “On the other hand, women sometimes miss the signs completely because they might be atypical.”

Visit the ER

When it comes to signs of a heart attack, Dr. Nguyen says to consider anything from “neck to navel” as a possible indicator. “We know the common symptoms — pressure and pain in the chest, jaw, or arm,” he says. “But nausea, shortness of breath, and profuse sweating are lesser-known signs.”

Dr. Nguyen says that when something changes suddenly, people should take notice. “If you can usually walk up a hill with no problem, but suddenly you have to take a break halfway up to catch your breath, that’s a rapid change that we need to pay attention to.”

Contact your cardiologist

People with high cholesterol, high blood pressure (hypertension), or a family history of heart disease should visit a cardiologist once a year to make sure they’re in good health, even if they don’t have symptoms. “We call high blood pressure and high cholesterol the silent killers,” Dr. Nguyen explains. “You may not realize you have a problem until you’re having a heart attack. Keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range can reduce your risk.”

Talk to a primary care provider or cardiologist for more guidance on how to reduce your heart attack risk.