5 Things You Must Know About Heart Attacks

For better or for worse, things rarely happen in real life the way they do in Hollywood (sorry, Pretty Woman isn't real). Heart attacks are no exception. Learning about them may save your life:

1. You might not feel any chest pain. The heart itself doesn't have pain receptors. But nerves coming from the heart may trigger nerves in, say, your chest or arm. Or not. Instead, you may notice unusual or extreme fatigue; atypical or prolonged disturbances in your sleep patterns; shortness of breath; indigestion; or pressure, tightness, aching, or burning in your upper back, neck, shoulders, arms, or even in your jaw or throat.


2. Cholesterol doesn't tell you much. Just one cholesterol number -- total cholesterol -- doesn't tell you everything. Better to know how much is artery-clogging lousy LDL (should be less than 100) and how much healthy HDL you have (should be higher than 50).


3. Cholesterol isn't the only number to watch. High blood pressure is a huge heart attack risk factor and is even more powerful than LDL. Your blood pressure should be 115/76 or lower.


4. Women are as vulnerable as men. The risk of dying from heart disease isn't just a guy thing.


5. What's on your mind really matters. Anxiety is hard on your heart. So hard, in fact, that highly anxious people with heart disease are TWICE as likely to suffer a heart attack or die compared with their more mellow-minded peers.

Previously published February 2010