Chest Pain: Wondering, Worrying, Waiting

I wonder if our culture has become so accustomed to heart disease that an immunity has developed to the messages about its serious and life-threatening nature. I wonder if some people are convinced that if a life-threatening cardiac event comes their way, they will be swiftly transported to the nearest high-tech hospital where a team of specialists will quickly identify the problem and craft an immediate solution. I wonder if we have become so comfortable with a life of unhealthy habits that daily indulgence in them must mean more to us than life itself. I wonder if 700,000 deaths per year from heart disease - more than all cancers combined - is enough to get us to take the risks of heart disease seriously.

Risk Factors
Every year, emergency rooms see thousands of people who are worried about having a heart attack. The vast majority do not have heart disease and have another explanation for the pain that brought them to seek medical attention. Yet, there are several groups of people who should be worrying about the possibility that they may suffer from heart disease. If you:

• Use any tobacco products
• Have high blood pressure
• Have an abnormal lipid profile (half of all adult Americans do not know their cholesterol level)
• Are overweight
• Have a family history of heart disease
• Have diabetes
• Do not exercise regularly

You may be at an increased risk for having a heart attack and should not ignore the warning signs.

Symptoms
The following are the symptoms that you ought to worry about, especially if they don't let up:

• Chest pressure
• Pain that radiates into the jaw, neck, or either arm
• Fatigue and difficulty breathing with minimal exertion
• Sweating profusely and out of proportion to an activity
• Nausea and light-headedness in combination with any of the above.

What To Do
If any of these symptoms occur, don't wait more than a few minutes before calling 911. If there is no emergency transport available, have someone drive you to the nearest emergency room for treatment.

If these symptoms occur when you are engaging in physical activity and then resolve when you stop - this can still be a serious problem. At the very least, make an urgent appointment with your doctor or if in doubt, proceed to the emergency room.

If you fit in any of the higher risk categories that I mentioned, there are two kinds of waiting in which you can engage: productive and unproductive. I define unproductive waiting as simply choosing to ignore the implications of your risk factors and any of the symptoms that are associated with heart disease. As someone once said, if you wait long enough, most things eventually go away. This can be true with heart disease, but the down side is that you will go away too - permanently.

The alternative is to engage in what I would call productive waiting. Be realistic about your risk or risks and take steps to do something now. There is ample material available through organizations such as the American Heart Association to provide you with some initial direction. That initial effort should quickly lead you to seeing your family doctor to create a careful plan of attack assessing all your risk factors.

If you are willing to do a little hard work, the opportunity to prevent real hardship for you and your family can be a reality. The difficult part involves some cold, hard honesty. What is more important - a cigarette or a hug from a grandchild? A doughnut, or taking that vacation with your spouse? Four hours spent in front of a TV set/computer screen or the ability to walk as far as you want when you want?

The habits that we allow to creep into our lives become the bars to a prison cell of our own making. Breaking out is not easy, but it is not impossible either. Which kind of a statistic do you want to be? The choices are yours and one way or the other, you are making them on a daily basis.

"Your Health" provides easy-to-understand information about common health conditions.