What are the symptoms of a heart attack?

The full name of myocardial infarction is myocardial infarction. Since myocardial infarction is a sudden disease, it often comes very quickly, but it is indeed the most harmful and can often take a life in a few minutes. Next, I will introduce to you the precursors of myocardial infarction so that we know what will happen before a sudden myocardial infarction, so that we can seek medical attention in time. Let me tell you what are the symptoms of myocardial infarction? Let us understand myocardial infarction better and more accurately.

1. Precursor of myocardial infarction

1. A few days before the onset of the disease, there are prodromal symptoms such as fatigue, chest discomfort, palpitations, shortness of breath, irritability, and angina pectoris during activities. Among them, new onset of angina pectoris (initial angina pectoris) or aggravation of existing angina pectoris (exacerbated angina pectoris) are the most prominent.

2. Angina attacks are more frequent, more severe, and last longer than before. Nitroglycerin is less effective and the inducing factors are not obvious.

3. Angina pectoris pain is accompanied by sweating, nausea, vomiting, arrhythmia, hypotension, etc.

4. When angina pectoris occurs, symptoms of heart failure appear or the original symptoms of heart failure worsen.

5. When angina pectoris occurs, the electrocardiogram shows transient elevation or significant depression of the ST segment, inverted or elevated T waves, or arrhythmia.

Symptoms of Myocardial Infarction

pain

When a myocardial infarction occurs, the first symptom is sudden severe pain behind the sternum or in front of the heart, usually without obvious cause. The pain is severe and lasts for a long time, usually more than half an hour, and sometimes up to several hours or days. It cannot be relieved by rest or sublingual nitroglycerin. Patients are often accompanied by irritability, sweating, fear or a sense of impending death.

Gastrointestinal symptoms

Severe pain is often accompanied by frequent nausea, vomiting, and upper abdominal distension and flatulence, and hiccups may occur in severe cases.

Systemic symptoms

Generally, fever, tachycardia, leukocytosis and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate will appear 24-48 hours after the pain occurs. The body temperature is generally around 38 degrees Celsius and rarely exceeds 39 degrees Celsius. It lasts for about a week.

Arrhythmias

Within 1-2 weeks of onset, especially within 24 hours, 75%-95% of patients experience various arrhythmias, with ventricular arrhythmias being the most common, and atrioventricular block and bundle branch block are also common. May be accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, and syncope.

Hypotension and shock

A drop in blood pressure is common when in pain, but it does not necessarily mean shock. If the pain is relieved but the systolic blood pressure is still lower than 80 ml of Hg, and is accompanied by irritability, pale complexion, cold and clammy skin, a thin and rapid pulse, a dry and dripping pulse, little urine (less than 20 ml per hour), slow reaction, or even syncope, then it is a sign of shock. It usually occurs within a few hours to a week after onset.

Heart failure

It is mainly acute left ventricular failure, with an incidence rate of 32%-48%, manifested by dyspnea, cough, cyanosis, irritability, and severe cases may develop pulmonary edema, coughing up pink foamy sputum, etc., followed by symptoms of right heart failure. Patients with right ventricular infarction will show symptoms of right heart failure from the beginning, accompanied by a decrease in blood pressure.