Jamaicans urged to learn heart attack signs

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) is encouraging Jamaicans to learn the warning signs of a heart attack.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Tuesday, Consultant Cardiologist and HFJ Chairman, Dr Andrine Chung, said a heart attack is not something that's going "on and on and on".

"It's a specified event in which there is damage to the heart muscle because of a sudden blockage of blood vessels and reduction or obstruction of blood flow to the heart muscle," she said. Chung noted that while a heart attack occurs suddenly, it usually happens following an extended period of deposits gradually forming inside the blood vessels supplying the heart. When the blood supply is blocked, the heart muscle becomes severely damaged or dies.

She said that the most consistently reported symptom of a heart attack in both men and women is chest pain, commonly felt in the centre of the chest but may spread to either arm, the neck or throat, or through to the back. The discomfort does not always present as severe pain and may feel dull, burning, sharp, or difficult to localise. Chung noted that a heart attack may also be associated with other symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, feeling faint, or breaking out in a cold sweat.

She noted that while heart attacks can happen to anyone, they are more common in men over 50 and women over 60. The HFJ is observing Heart Month in February under the theme 'Heart Attack: Anyone Can Be Affected'.