Unfortunately our body isn’t perfect and, as such, it can be pretty hard to tell apart some problems that can be affecting us. Sometimes an annoying pain can be nothing more than that: some annoying pain that will just go away, or it could be something pretty serious.
In this article we are going to look at the difference between a heart attack and an indigestion, since these two can be pretty similar to someone who doesn’t know what to look for. With both, you will feel a sharp pain on your chest, and most people who have indigestion end up thinking that they are having a heart attack, when it is no more than acid reflux.
Acid reflux is what happens when a muscle that you have on your esophagus fails to do its job properly and as such lets some of the acid in your stomach to go into the esophagus itself. The esophagus isn’t able to deal with the acid properly and as such, you end up feeling pain while your body deals with the problem properly.
But it can also be a heart attack, and that we all know is incredibly serious. Whenever you feel any kind of sharp chest pain, doctors recommend that you call 911 immediately, even if you think it’s no big deal. It’s always better to play it safe, but there are some things you can do to tell them apart.
When the pain comes a heart attack, it will feel like someone is squeezing your chest, and you will feel it tight and full, something that isn’t exactly similar to indigestion. Moreover, the pain is likely to spread to your arms, neck or shoulders, and that almost never happens with indigestion.
Indigestion is probably going to give you a bad taste on the back of your math from the acid reflux. This is something that you need to pay attention to, since this isn’t a symptom that appears with a heart attack. With a heart attack, you are likely to have cold sweats, nausea and lightheadedness.
You can also analyze what you did before the pain started. If you just finished a meal and then started to feel the pain, it is most likely indigestion rather than a heart attack. But if you just did something that made your blood pressure go up (such as exercise), it is likely to be a heart attack that you need to watch out for.
Situations where you have to deal with a lot of stress are actually going to e a cause for a heart attack as well, and if you feel like you are risk you need to avoid these situation as much as possible in order to protect yourself.