Heart Attack or Gastric Pain? Cardiologist Reveals Key Differences

• A 38-year-old multinational company employee experienced chest tightness, pain on the left side, and breathing difficulty, often dismissing it as gastric pain.
• Dr. Parneesh Arora, Director of Interventional Cardiology at Medanta Hospital Noida, explains that heart attack and gastric pain can occur in the same upper abdominal area, making differentiation difficult.
• Warning signs of a heart attack include sudden onset of pain, extreme restlessness, profuse sweating, feeling very ill, or faintness, especially if these symptoms are new.
• If pain continuously increases and is accompanied by these symptoms, it's crucial to consider it a potential cardiac issue, even if previous pains were gastric.
• Seek immediate medical attention from a cardiologist or emergency room if new, increasing discomfort and restlessness occur; multiple ECGs and cardiac enzyme tests over 4-6 hours may be needed to rule out heart problems.

Why It Matters: Distinguish heart attack from gastric pain by new symptoms like sweating, restlessness, and increasing pain; seek urgent medical evaluation.