Heartburn or Chest Pain Which Leads to Heart Attack
In the USA, more than five million people present to the emergency departments each year with complaints of chest pain.4 However, many people misunderstand the pain for being a heart attack, when they are only experiencing the common heartburn. GERD is probably the most common cause of non-cardiac chest pain in clinical practice.
Patients with unexplained chest pain should be considered to have a cardiac cause for their pain until proven otherwise. Coronary artery disease should be considered early in the diagnostic protocol, as the implications of this diagnosis are more profound than that of GERD. Therefore, it is important to know the difference between heartburn and heart attack, as it could save an individual’s life with the appropriate treatment approach.
A heart attack is characterized by feeling of tightness or constricting pain in the chest, which radiates to the left-side of the neck, face and arms. This may be accompanied with shortness of breath, profuse sweating and palpitation. Usually, the onset of a heart attack is triggered by stress or exertion. The chest pain, which is persistent even after consumption of a variety of heartburn remedies, suggests the possibility of a heart attack and needs immediate medical attention.
Written by: healthplus24 team
Date last updated: April 05, 2012