A Month Before a Heart Attack, Your Body Will Warn You With These 8 Signs

Published Published June 8th, 2018

Most people will shrug these signs off as nothing serious, but knowing them could save a loved one's life.

One of the most important sayings in the medical field is that a prevention is better than a cure. This is something that applies across the board, especially with ailments that are not so easily detected.

One of the most deadly diseases is heart disease. And you always hear terrible stories of people having heart attacks “out of nowhere” but usually it’s that the person missed signs their body was using to warn them.

Here are the 8 signs your body will use to warn you:

1. Chest Pain

This is the obvious one because when most people think about a heart attack they think chest pain. While everyone may experience a different type of chest pain, it can widely be described as the type of pain that extends to odd sensations in one or both arms. But it can also extend to your lower jaw, neck, shoulders, or stomach.

2. Abnormal Perspiration

The thing to note about this is it can happen at any time of the day or night, not just when you think you should be sweating. This is one of the signs that often happens more in woman and can be confused with hot flashes/night sweats associated with menopause.

People have described the feeling as flu-like/clammy skin. Night time seems to be more common and people wake with damp bed sheets.

3. Abnormal/Irregular Heartbeat

Among women especially, skipped beats or arrhythmias can coincide with panic attacks or anxiety. Often times it appears unexpectedly and if the irregular heart beat last for 1-2 minutes and then doesn’t fade, seek help right away.

4. Hair Loss

This one certainly affects men over 50 more than any other demographic. But women also can be in this risk group. Losing your hair is also associated with an increase in your cortisol hormone. You’ll want to pay attention to hair loss from the crown of your head.

5. Shortness of Breath

One of the more obvious signs is Dyspnea or a strong feeling that you can’t take in a deep breath. People say this occurs in both men and woman up to 6 months prior to having a heart attack. The feeling like you can’t get enough air is clearly a sign of a medical issue.

6. Trouble Sleeping

Having close ties to high anxiety levels, insomnia is associated with a risk of stroke or a heart attack. This often is more common in women than men, but can effect both. This can be described as trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up earlier than normal.

7. Pain In The Abdomen

It has been documented that right before a heart attack patients often experience intense stomach pains. Bloated, upset stomachs, empty and full nausea are all several common symptoms. Both men and women experience these and it doesn’t favor one gender over the other.

8. Unusual Fatigue

Women have reported this symptom more often than men and can be described as impossible to perform even simple tasks. People have said even just taking a shower is nearly too exhausting. This fatigue will increase as the day goes on and by night you’re usually completely drained. This symptom is impossible to ignore that’s how severe it will sometimes be.

Everyone is aware of the obvious other risk factors such as obesity, smoking, and family history but it’s important to understand that other signs are a warning sign as well. With anything that comes to your health, they usually say you know best. If you notice something and have a feeling in the pit of your stomach something is wrong, seek medical help right away.