Nausea

Stomach discomfort is yet another symptom that may occur in the weeks before a heart attack. You’ll want to keep an eye on this, especially if you can’t pinpoint another cause for the nausea.

Anxiety

Among patients with pre-heart attack symptoms, 23% experienced anxiety, according to one study. People with cardiovascular disease often have co-occurring anxiety, which can contribute to disease progression.

Sleep Disturbances

There can be many causes for not getting a good night’s rest, including extra stress or consuming caffeine too close to bedtime. However, sleep problems that occur without an apparent cause could be a heart attack warning sign.

Swelling

Sometimes, swelling in your legs, ankles, or feet could indicate that blood is not flowing as it should in the body. This could be associated with a blockage in the weeks before a heart attack.

Pain In Other Body Parts

Surprisingly, pain from a heart attack may not be isolated to your chest. It also can occur in your arms, back, jaw, or neck. This pain may happen during a heart attack but also in the weeks leading up to a heart attack.

Why Symptoms Precede a Heart Attack

Heart attack symptoms may occur before a heart attack as the body responds to reduced blood flow to the heart. Fatty cholesterol deposits, calcium, and inflammatory cells can accumulate in the walls of a coronary artery (those carrying blood to the heart), producing plaques.

If a plaque ruptures, it can cause a blood clot to form within the coronary artery, which can block blood and oxygen flow to the heart, producing a heart attack.

The underlying cause of symptoms associated with a heart attack include:

• Reduced blood flow to the heart makes the heart work harder to pump blood.
• An abnormal heart rhythm could cause a symptom like dizziness.
• Blood is not pumping as it should throughout the body, which can lead to a symptom like swollen legs or ankles.

Right Before a Heart Attack: What Happens

Each person’s symptoms right before a heart attack may differ. However, several symptoms are common for most people. You’ll notice that these symptoms mirror the ones that occur in the weeks or months before a heart attack. These symptoms include:

• Chest pain or discomfort, usually in the center or the left side of the chest. The pain may last more than a couple of minutes, or it may come and go.
• Feeling light-headed or as if you’re going to faint
• Breaking out into a sweat
• Back, neck, or jaw pain
• Arm or shoulder discomfort
• Shortness of breath

If you or someone you’re with has the signs of a heart attack, call emergency hotline right away. The sooner you get medical attention, the less chance you’ll have permanent damage to the heart.

A Word From Verywell

Heart attacks don’t usually occur “out of the blue;” they are typically preceded by symptoms that are all too easy to rationalize away. An impending heart attack can be prevented with medical care. So, if you experience any of these symptoms, don’t ignore them. Contact your healthcare provider right away.

— RICHARD N. FOGOROS, MD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD

Richard N. Fogoros, MD

Summary

Chest pain, chest heaviness, and heart palpitations are common symptoms that may occur in the month before a heart attack. Prodromal symptoms develop as your body copes with reduced blood and oxygen flow to the heart. The symptoms that occur at the onset of a heart attack are often similar to the ones that appear the month before a heart attack, including chest pain and chest heaviness. Each person’s experience with heart attack symptoms is different.