Men, Silent Signs of a heart attack

Arm Pain

“Atypical heart attacks can have a wide range of presentations,” explains Dr. David Gatz, an emergency physician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. “Pain or discomfort will frequently still be a part of the presentation, but may not involve the chest. Examples might include arm or neck pain.”

Indeed, in the Canadian study, 19 percent of men noted that they’d experienced neck pain, and 26 percent noted having pain in both arms at some point. And while some discomfort is normal,

Toothaches

Toothaches don’t always mean it’s time to schedule a trip to the dentist. Rather, for a surprising number of male heart attack victims—13 percent in the Canadian study, to be exact—tooth pain was one of the silent symptoms of their heart problem.

Weakness

A general feeling of lethargy and frailty could mean that you have the flu—or it could indicate that you’re having a heart attack. In the ER, “some [heart attack] patients report more vague symptoms like generalized weakness, while still others report an ominous sensation that they’re going to die,” says Gatz.

Throat Pain

“Typical symptoms [of a silent myocardial infarction] like mild pain in the throat or chest can be confused with gastric reflux, indigestion, and heartburn,” explain the editors at Harvard Health. Since so many patients mistake this warning sign for something less severe, they often put off seeing a doctor until their condition has worsened past the point of treatment—making it all the more important for individuals to pay attention to this symptom when it occurs. 9. Throat Pain “Typical symptoms [of a silent myocardial infarction] like mild pain in the throat or chest can be confused with gastric reflux, indigestion, and heartburn,” explain the editors at Harvard Health. Since so many patients mistake this warning sign for something less severe, they often put off seeing a doctor until their condition has worsened past the point of treatment—making it all the more important for individuals to pay attention to this symptom when it occurs.

Pressure in the Center of the Chest

Though most people associate heart disease with pain on the left side of the chest—where the heart is located—it is actually more common for a person experiencing a heart attack to feel pressure or pain in the center.

“Heart attacks most often cause discomfort in the center of the chest, along with a sensation of unremitting squeezing, fullness, or tightness,” cardiologist Dr. Curtis Rimmerman, MD, explained to the Cleveland Clinic,

Nausea

Feeling sick to your stomach? It could be because that sushi you ate at lunch was past its prime—or it could be a silent sign your heart isn’t working like it’s supposed to. This happens because, during a heart attack, the heart diverts blood away from the digestive system, thereby causing unpleasant gastrointestinal issues.

Back Pain

Pain anywhere in your upper body could be a symptom of heart disease—not just your chest. According to the Cleveland Clinic, when the heart is having difficulty functioning, it activates nerves that can trigger pain elsewhere in the body. So, if you’re dealing with discomfort in your back and you can’t explain why, it might be time to get your heart checked out—just to be safe.

Numbness

You can once again thank impaired blood flow for this subtle heart attack symptom. Because a heart attack causes the blood vessels throughout the body to narrow, it limits the amount of blood your extremities receive and therefore causes them to go numb.