The heart is a muscle that pumps blood, which contains oxygen and other nutrients, throughout the body. Blood is supplied to the heart via coronary arteries. When a coronary artery becomes blocked, either completely or partially, a heart attack ensues. When cells in the heart do not receive the oxygen from the blood that is being blocked, the heart cells begin to die. The amount of time that passes before treatment restores full blood flow to the heart affects the amount of damage to the heart. The more time that passes, the more damage there is. A mild heart attack is one that only partially obstructs the flow of blood to the heart.
Most Common Symptom
The most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain or a feeling of discomfort in the chest. Most heart attacks have the symptom of discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or that goes away and then comes back. This heart attack pain can feel like indigestion or heartburn. This discomfort feels like an uncomfortable pressure. It can also feel like a fullness, squeezing or pain that can be mild or severe. For a mild heart attack, this pain would be mild.
Other Symptoms
Discomfort can occur in other upper body parts also. This includes pain or numbness in the neck, jaw or back. It also includes pain or numbness in one or both arms and in the stomach. Other symptoms include breaking out in a cold sweat, shortness of breath, fainting and feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
Diagnosing Mild Heart Attack
A typical heart attack can be diagnosed with ECG, or electrocardiogram, testing. This is called ST-segment elevation. However, when there is a mild heart attack in which the blockage of blood to the heart is incomplete or intermittent, the electrocardiogram testing might not reveal the signs of a heart attack. However, the blockage of blood to the heart will result in heart damage, which produces specific proteins. A simple blood test can provide an indication of the presence of these proteins. The proteins that are tested for are troponins and creatine kinase-MB. If these proteins are present in the bloodstream, a mild heart attack will be diagnosed.
Symptoms in Women
Women can experience additional symptoms when experiencing a mild heart attack that are different from men who experience mild heart attacks. For women, these symptoms include a feeling of clamminess of the skin, abdominal pain or heartburn, lightheadedness or dizziness, and an unusual or unexplained feeling of fatigue.
Lifestyle Changes
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of a mild heart attack. The lifestyle factors that reduce the risk of a heart attack include not smoking, checking cholesterol levels and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, getting regular medical checkups, checking blood pressure and maintaining healthy blood pressure levels, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress levels, eating a healthy diet and consuming alcohol only in moderation.
