World Heart Day 2018: Know the difference between a heart attack and an anxiety attack

LAHORE -  World Heart Day is observed to encourage people to adopt health living and cut their risk of heart-related illnesses. It is the World Heart Federation's and the world's biggest platform for raising awareness about cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke.

Our mind can often trick us into not instantly recognising a condition instantly. Therefore, on this day it is important to learn when real danger strikes. An anxiety attack and heart attack have similar symptoms yet anxiety can never kill you.

Symptoms of heart attack:

Chest discomfort or pain.

Upper body pain (shoulders, arms, back, neck, jaw, teeth, etc.).

Stomach pain.

Shortness of breath.

Anxiety.

Lightheadedness or dizziness.

Sweating.

Nausea and vomiting.

Fainting (more likely with women, the elderly, and people with diabetes).

Unusual fatigue.

This list is not exhaustive. For more information about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack, see your doctor.

Some of the signs and symptoms of anxiety:

Chest tightness or pain.

Upper body pain (or pain anywhere in the body).

Stomach upset and pain.

Shortness of breath.

Palpitations.

Anxiety.

Lightheadedness or dizziness.

Sweating.

Nausea and vomiting.

Feel like passing out.

Unusual fatigue or exhaustion.

Here are a few differences that will make you differentiate between the two conditions in order todecide what kind of medical help is needed at that point.

Anxiety generally produces more symptoms than just those similar to a heart attack. For example, anxiety often produces body-wide sensations and symptoms that are dissimilar to those of a heart attack.

Anxiety generally doesn’t cause people to pass out.

Hyperventilation is a common cause of symptoms similar to those of a heart attack.Relaxing your breathing and giving your body a few minutes to adjust usually alleviates symptoms that are solely related to hyperventilation and anxiety. So within a few minutes, you should be able to tell the difference as heart attack symptoms generally don’t subside this easily.

Numbness and tingling in the feet is a symptom of anxiety but not usually of a heart attack.

While anxiety can make it feel like you need to vomit, most people generally don't. Yes, some people do, but this is the exception not the rule.

Calming yourself down can reduce and eliminate many anxiety symptoms within a few minutes. The former is not the case with a heart attack.