When we live with pain on a daily basis, we often wonder if a new pain is something we should be concerned about.  It can be particularly difficult to tell if you have a condition like fibromyalgia, where the pain typically moves around from day to day.  Right or wrong, most of us wait to see if the pain gets worse before getting it checked out.  But when it's chest pain, we naturally wonder if we could be having a heart attack. 

Heart Attack Symptoms

So how do we know when chest pain is something to worry about?  Following are signs that can indicate a possible heart attack: 

•  Uncomfortable pain, pressure, squeezing or fullness in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes.
•  Discomfort that spreads to other areas of the upper body including the back, neck, jaw, stomach, shoulders, or one or both arms. 
•  Shortness of breath.
•  Sweating, anxiety, nausea, or lightheadedness.
•  A feeling of impending doom.

The most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain/discomfort, but women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other symptoms, particularly shorness of breath, nausea and back or jaw pain.  

Additionally, according to Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, Professor of Clinical Medicine at Wild-Cornell Medical Center, if you've had these symptoms before that came on with exertion and now they are  suddenly there all the time, you need to be concerned.  You should also be concerned if you have one or more risk factors for heart attack.  You are at risk if you:

•  Have high blood pressure.
•  Are overweight.
•  Have diabetes.
•  Are a smoker.
•  Have a family history of heart disease.

If you have chest discomfort, especially accompanied by one or more of the signs above, don't wait.  Call 9-1-1 or get to a hospital right away.  Getting help right away may not only save your life, but it may also prevent serious damage to your heart. 

Other Possible Heart Problems

Besides a heart attack, there are other heart-related problems that can also have chest pain as a symptom, such as:

•  Angina – restricted blood flow to your heart.  Angina usually causes pressure or tightness in the chest.  It is often brought on by physical or emotional stress. 
•  Pericarditis – inflammation and possibly excess fluid in the sac that surrounds the heart.  Acute paricarditis causes sharp, stabbing pain in the chest that may travel to the shoulder and neck.  The pain of chronic paricarditis is more dull and pressure-like and may vary in intensity. 
•  Coronary artery spasm – arteries that supply blood to the heart spasm, temporarily shutting down blood flow to the heart.  This can cause varying degrees of chest pain. 
•  Aortic dissection – inner layers of the aorta separate, forcing blood between them.  Symptoms may occur in the chest and back.  They are sudden and feels like something is tearing.