Does your heart hurt? Doctors do not recommend taking any medications without a prescription and waiting for the alarming symptoms to pass.
Heart pain does not always indicate problems with this important organ; it can also be caused by other diseases. One thing is certain: it is impossible to determine the cause of such pain on your own.
Symptoms
What should you do and what should you not do if your heart hurts? Symptoms that indicate a true heart problem are the following:
- chest pain;
- pain radiating to the left arm;
- shortness of breath and/or swelling;
- dizziness and headache;
- rapid or irregular heartbeat;
- weakness, excessive fatigue.
Visiting the family doctor
Cardiologists strongly recommend that if the symptoms listed above occur, you should consult your family doctor. After the examination, he may refer you for an electrocardiogram and blood tests, in particular for cholesterol. Also, if necessary, the family doctor will refer you for a consultation with a cardiologist or prescribe additional examinations (for example, an ultrasound examination of the heart).
When there is no time to waste
Experts advise call an ambulance immediately in case if:
- chest pain is constant and becomes more intense;
- the pain repeats in waves at rest;
- pain radiates to the left shoulder, lower jaw;
- there is a sharp weakness and a feeling of horror, fear;
- pulse quickens;
- You have recorded sharp fluctuations in blood pressure.
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