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The sooner you recognise the signs of a heart attack and seek treatment, the higher the chance you'll have a full recovery.
According to AustraliaWide First Aid, coronary heart disease has been the leading cause of all deaths for over half a century.
Data from The Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that nearly 13,000 (12,728) people died of heart disease in Australia in 2021.
Highlights
- Heart attack symptoms include having a choking sensation in your throat, feeling like your arms are heavy, shortness of breath, nausea, cold sweats, and feeling dizzy.
- In Australia, half of the men and a third of the women over the age of 45 will suffer from heart disease at some point in their life.
- Heart attack can be avoidable by having a healthy lifestyle
Cardiologist Garry Jennings from the Heart Foundation explains what exactly goes on when somebody has a heart attack.
"What happens is when there's a narrowing and a blockage of one of the main arteries that supply the heart muscle and the heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen and other nutrients so it can't survive under those conditions."
While warning signs vary from person to person, there are several common signs of a heart attack.
Cardiologist Rob Perel from Queensland Cardiovascular Group says to look out for chest pain.
"The first one is pain, chest pain. And the chest pain, if it's an acute heart attack, will be severe and unrelenting. It will usually be present on the left side of the chest, but it can be more central. The pain will radiate through the jaw and down the left arm. That's one type of chest pain. There's another one called angina where the person gets a more chronic version of the same pain and it's also due to coronary artery disease, but it's not an acute heart attack. That can be pain that is worst when you walk and better when you rest and it's in the same place."
