Warning Signs & Symptoms

Warning Signs & Symptoms

If you suspect either of these emergencies is occurring DIAL 911 IMMEDIATELY. Every minute saved can enhance the patient’s outcome.

For Heart Attacks

  • Uncomfortable pain, pressure, a squeezing sensation or stabbing pain in the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back
  • Pain radiating to shoulder, neck, arm or jaw
  • Pounding heart or change in heart rhythm
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain
  • Cold sweats or clammy skin
  • Dizziness
  • A feeling of anxiety or panic
  • Heartburn

A woman’s symptoms of heart attack can be very different from a man’s. They may be more likely to experience:

  • Feeling of breathlessness, often without chest pain of any kind
  • An “unusual” feeling or mild discomfort in the chest or back
  • A burning sensation in the chest, often mistaken as heartburn
  • Pain or tingling in upper back, shoulders, neck or jaw
  • Flu-like symptoms – specifically nausea, clamminess, body aches or cold sweats
  • Unexplained and sudden onset of fatigue, weakness or dizziness
  • Feelings of anxiety

Warning Signs & Symptoms for Strokes

  • Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body.
  • Tremors or shaking on one side of the body.
  • Sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in just one eye.
  • Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech.
  • Sudden, severe, unexplained headaches.
  • Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness or sudden falls, especially with any of the previous symptoms.

Stroke Symptoms can be difficult to identify. Physicians recommend asking three simple questions:

  1. Ask the individual to smile.
  2. Ask him or her to raise both arms.
  3. Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.

If the patient has trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.