General Cardiology

A heart attack happens when blood flow to the heart stops. Most often, this is caused by the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries.

You may be at higher risk of experiencing a heart attack if you:

• Are a man over the age 45
• Are a woman over age 55
• Aren’t physically active
• Experience excessive stress
• Have a family history of heart attack
• Use illegal drugs
• Use tobacco or are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke

Certain medical conditions can also increase your risk, including:

• Coronary artery disease
• Diabetes
• High blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Metabolic syndrome
• Obesity

You can take steps to reduce your risk of a heart attack. That means working closely with your personal physician or cardiologist and managing any pre-existing health conditions. It’s also smart to make healthy lifestyle choices, including:

• Avoiding alcohol
• Eating a heart-healthy diet
• Finding ways to manage stress
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Quitting smoking
• Spending time with family and friends
• Staying active
• Taking medications as prescribed

A heart attack doesn’t always look like it does in the movies. Most heart attacks start with subtle symptoms that may be easily ignored. But, if you’re at risk of heart attack, don’t ignore these critical early warning signs. Listening to your body can ensure you get the care you need, when you need it.

Common heart attack symptoms can include:

• Anxiety
• Back pain
• Chest pressure, squeezing, aching or burning
• Excessive fatigue
• Feeling of fullness
• Jaw pain
• Nausea
• Pain that travels down one or both arms
• Shortness of breath

As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort, but women are somewhat more likely than men to experience the other symptoms including shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.

If you’re concerned you or a loved one are having a heart attack, call 911 immediately. Don’t delay getting the lifesaving care you need.

Our team offers the latest innovations in diagnosing and treating heart attacks. Our interventional cardiologists have proven experience performing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open blocked arteries.

Your care begins before you even arrive. Paramedics notify our emergency departments that someone experiencing a heart attack is on their way. Our highly trained team assembles and prepares to provide care for you or your loved one. We’ll even instruct emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to begin performing diagnostic tests so we can begin treating you as soon as you arrive.

As an accredited chest pain center, we have proven our exceptional standards and efficiency in treating patients with heart attack symptoms. We have streamlined systems from admission to evaluation to diagnosis and treatment.

As our team of cardiologists, surgeons and cardiac nurses assess your health and condition to create a treatment plan that helps you recover and strengthens your heart.