Signs of a Heart Attack

Signs of a Heart Attack
The warning signs of a heart attack are:
• Pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes.
• Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms.
• Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
• Not all these signs occur in every heart attack. If you or someone you are with has some of these signs, don’t wait. Get help fast.*

Actions for Survival
• Recognize the signs.
• If you are experiencing the signs, stop whatever you're doing and sit or lie down. If someone you are with is experiencing the signs, be sure they stop what they are doing and sit or lie down – even if they say they don’t think they need to.
• If the warning signs last more than a few minutes, call 911*. If that's not possible, take the victim to the nearest hospital emergency room with emergency cardiac care.*

*If you have an emergency medical condition, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. When you have an emergency medical condition, we cover emergency care from Plan providers and non-Plan providers anywhere in the world.

An emergency medical condition is (1) a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in serious jeopardy to your health or serious impairment or dysfunction of your bodily functions or organs; or (2) when you are in active labor and there isn’t enough time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital before delivery, or if transfer poses a threat to you or your unborn child’s health and safety.

Contact your Kaiser Permanente Health Education Center or Department or your local Heart Association to find out how you can learn CPR. Find Health Education classes online at kp.org/healthyliving.

Disclaimer
If you think you have a MEDICAL OR PSYCHIATRIC EMERGENCY, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY or go to the nearest hospital. DO NOT attempt to access emergency care through this web site. An emergency medical condition is a medical or psychiatric condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in any of the following: serious jeopardy to your health, serious impairment to your bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of any bodily organ or part. An emergency medical condition is also "active labor," which means a labor when there is inadequate time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery or if a transfer poses a threat to the health of the member or unborn child.

This site may contain links to other web sites outside of www.permanente.net. Kaiser Permanente has no control over the content or the availability of these sites, and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites. Web links are provided as an educational tool, and should not be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. A link or reference to a web site should not be construed as an endorsement of the site or its contents. Any medical content that you feel may be important to your health should always be discussed with your Kaiser Permanente physician.