Facts and symptoms of a heart attack

New research suggests the number of heart attack patients with no known risk factors has increased, leading to calls for greater awareness of the symptoms.

HEART ATTACK FACTS:

* About 55,000 Australians suffer a heart attack every year

* 23 people die from heart attacks every day

* One-in-four patients die within the first hour of the first heart attack symptom

* Caused by a blockage in a coronary artery

HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS:

* Discomfort or pain in chest

* Discomfort in your arm(s), shoulder(s), neck, jaw or back

* Possible choking feeling in throat

* Shortness of breath

* Nausea

* Cold sweat

* Dizziness or feeling light-headed

NOT AN OLD MAN'S PROBLEM

* Heart disease kills four times more Australian women than breast cancer

* 40 per cent of heart attacks in women are fatal

(Source: Heart Research Australia, Heart Foundation)