# Did I have a heart attack??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2003, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057 "2003-09-22T11:47:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/1 "2003-09-22T11:47:55Z")
I just woke up to a strange pain in both my chest and head. I’m exhausted, and have been sleeping very poorly lately, so I’m also feeling a bit inarticulate at the moment, but if I don’t get this thread out there now I’m afraid I’ll probably go back to sleep and forget about it. So I suddenly wake up and there’s a pain in my chest which is quickly getting more and more intense. Lagging only moments behind is an intense pressure in my head (actually it seems concentrated around the sinus area between my eyes - that _is_ the sinuses, right?) which seems a direct result of what’s going on in my chest. It almost feels like something’s stuck somewhere in my chest and there’s pressure building behind it to push it through. The whole ordeal lasted under a minute I’m guessing and faded away as quickly as it came on. This is not the first time this has happened, but it is the first in some months, perhaps even a year. Anyone have any idea what’s happening here? ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/2 "2003-09-22T12:03:51Z")
Angina? Heartburn? Cramp? Go and see a doc tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/3 "2003-09-22T12:09:33Z")
GO TO THE ER! **RIGHT NOW!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/4 "2003-09-22T13:35:06Z")
I hope that you’re on the way to the ER, or a doctor. Please let us know what happens. I had a heart attack 6 years ago. You don’t want to wait. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/5 "2003-09-22T13:36:34Z")
OK, now you have me in a panic. Great. It really doesn’t feel like an emergency situation at the moment. It only did for that one minute, and as scary as it was, I was somehow confident that it would pass soon. Can you elaborate a bit please before I cancel my whole day’s obligations? BTW, I do not have insurance, and I am currently just barely able to pay rent. Of course I’d rather be alive and in lots of debt, then dead and in less lots of debt. But an ER visit would probably cost nearly 300 dollars for just visiting. So I’d prefer to not make any rash decisions to go there based on panic. ---
**Author:** ![Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac91a4/32.png) [@Knighted\_Vorpal\_Sword](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knighted_Vorpal_Sword)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/6 "2003-09-22T13:40:33Z")
Just because you feel it’s not an emergency situation **now** does not mean skip the doctor. Pain that intense can come and go, and you could be doing major damage to your heart by delaying a visit. (BTW, I woke my wife at 3 in the morning to tell her I was going to the ER. I thought I had a broken rib because my daughter had kicked me earlier that evening. Her now famous reply was, “You know, if it’s not an emergency, the insurance won’t pay.” I had bypass surgery a few days later.) ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/7 "2003-09-22T13:51:23Z")
OK. Just in case you are in the middle of a cardiac event, take two aspirin. Won’t save you, but will increase your chances of survival. (Don’t do this if you have had previous bad reactions to aspirin or acetaminophen). Read this: [What to Do If You Have Chest Pain: If You Have a History of Heart Disease, Take Chest Pain Seriously](http://www.columbiasurgery.org/news/new_tips_chestpain.html). Particularly note the following: > [@](#): > > Dr. Gliklich urges people to have a doctor they can call if they experience chest pain. “Call as quickly as possible, and let your doctor guide you,” he says. “If your symptoms are frightening and you can’t get through to a doctor, call an ambulance.” > > “If you can’t reach a doctor, or if your angina is particularly severe or associated with shortness of breath and sweating, call 911 and go to the nearest hospital. Don’t try to drive yourself anywhere – call 911.” So if you have a history of heart disease, it’s time to call the ambulance. Otherwise, you probably should arrange to see a doctor in the next week or so. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/8 "2003-09-22T14:34:24Z")
Lots of people have heart attacks and dont even know it. Get an EKG and a stress test, it will usu show if you had one, and some damage was done. ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/9 "2003-09-22T14:37:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Can you elaborate a bit please before I cancel my whole day’s obligations? Um, sure, yeah… **YOU MIGHT DIE TODAY!** There? That make it enough of a priority for you? ---
**Author:** ![legion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@legion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legion)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/10 "2003-09-22T15:08:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Moe \* > \*\*BTW, I do not have insurance, and I am currently just barely able to pay rent. Of course I’d rather be alive and in lots of debt, then dead and in less lots of debt. But an ER visit would probably cost nearly 300 dollars for just visiting. So I’d prefer to not make any rash decisions to go there based on panic. \*\* Holy health scare! I’m suddenly very grateful for the National Health Service in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/11 "2003-09-22T15:16:25Z")
> [@](#): > > BTW, I do not have insurance, and I am currently just barely able to pay rent. Of course I’d rather be alive and in lots of debt, then dead and in less lots of debt. But an ER visit would probably cost nearly 300 dollars for just visiting. So I’d prefer to not make any rash decisions to go there based on panic. I don’t want to start a GD or anything but surely there’s somewhere (a county hospital or something) that you can go and get checked out. Do you mean to tell me that if you’ve no money you can’t get this checked out? If so that’s a disgrace but I really doubt(hope) that you have no options ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/12 "2003-09-22T16:57:25Z")
**Moe** , don’t be stupid. Go to the hospital. They will not deny you care because you don’t have insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/13 "2003-09-22T17:07:06Z")
**Moe** –you can work out payments over time. They do it all the time! ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/14 "2003-09-22T17:53:04Z")
F@%k! I had so much to friggin’ do today. But you guys are scaring me. I’m actually more afraid of having to come back here and admit you were all right, then I am of what may actually be wrong. I’m headin’ out to the ER. Just to respond: **Desmo** , I was hoping to hear more responses like yours, and your cite has me much less panicked now. No history of heart disease in my family as far as I know. **NoGood** , I was actually hoping for more information instead of kneejerk panic, but thank you. The message has gotten through. About the money, of course the hospital will see me. They won’t even ask for insurance until after the visit. They’ll just bill me later. Today has also got me interested in looking for state sponsored health programs that I might be eligible for, like something called Family Health Plus, or something like that, but that’s a whole other thread. And yes, the lack of a socialized health care system in the US f&%kin’ sucks, but that’s for GD, or more likely the Pit. (But man, it f$#kin’ sucks!) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/15 "2003-09-22T17:56:00Z")
Such symptoms could be anything from heart attack to sinus headaches. I think if I had those symptoms, as an ER doc, I would go to the emergency room if the chest pain OR PRESSURE returned, and visit a doctor in the morning to get an EKG (ECG). ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/16 "2003-09-22T18:09:10Z")
I had a boss who came into work and said that she had a sore chest. She thought it might’ve been from moving furniture to get ready for visiting relatives. She died that night. i’m glad you’re on your way to the ER. I hope that it’s something benign. Don’t play. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/17 "2003-09-22T18:14:55Z")
Glad I refreshed before leaving. I’m going to take your advice **Dr.** At the moment it’s an isolated event. Um… I really, really hate to keep making my health a financial issue, but what’s the going rate for an EKG these days? (I’m going regardless of the answer. I just hate financial surprises). ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/18 "2003-09-22T19:39:24Z")
It’s worth getting checked out. I’ve went through 2 EKG’s, 2 echo cardiograms, wearing a 24 hour monitor, and 2 stress tests. The end result was that everything looks fine. It was worth it just for the peace of mind. A couple things did really suck about it. Naturally the missed work is never good. The reason for the two stress tests was that the first one came back **abnormal**. After stressing out over it for three weeks, I finally got in for an appointment to have it gone over with a technician. He showed me the problem. The test had electronic noise and artifacts in it. The computer generated average that the first doctor saw did look abnormal, however the technician showed me the actually printouts. They were fine right up to the point where noise came in. They said it may have been due to a pad coming loose or something. Anyway, the result was actually **invalid** not abnormal. I then did a second stress test which came back normal. I still think it sucks that I had to pay for the first test and that I went through all of the weeks of stress. When it comes down to it, I think that is what I was feeling. The effects of stress. It’s amazing how once I quite stressing over it, I started feeling better. I guess it’s not as bad as what happened to a friend of mine. He took a physical when he turned 35. They got his results mixed up with someone else’s. He went through two weeks believing he had a form of cancer. Back to the original question though, what happened to you could be a lot of things. Get yourself familiar with the risks of heart attack (cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, heredity, and something else I’m forgetting) and the signs. Even after my experiences, I do think you should get it checked. I just think that you should try to avoid stressing out over it and don’t be afraid to get a second opionion. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/19 "2003-09-23T00:39:03Z")
Well, after my last post I did a Cameron Frye (from Ferris Bueler…) “OK I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go… I’m staying, I’ll stay, I’ll stay, I’ll… go, He’ll keep calling me and calling me (“he” being my inner monologue), I’ll go…” So I went to the ER. Got there around 4 and am still waiting my turn. It is unlikely I will be called to go in in the next 3 hours or so, so I came home for a bit. I’ll head back in a few hours and keep you all updated. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057/20 "2003-09-24T12:11:54Z")
**Moe**? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-have-a-heart-attack/203057.md?page=2)