A heart attack happens due to a blood clot that blocks the flow of blood through a coronary artery -- a blood vessel that carries blood to part of the heart, according to MayoClinic.com. As a myocardial infarction, this condition is generally fatal unless a patient quickly recognizes the symptoms and seeks the appropriate medical care. During sleep, heart attack sufferers may jolt awake, feeling a variety of symptoms indicative of a heart attack. Food consumption, lifestyle, exercise and stress all play a role in the risk of heart disease. Patients should immediately get emergency services should heart attack symptoms develop either in the sleep or waking state.
Heart Palpitations, Pressure in the Chest and Cold Sweat
Heart palpitations are the sensation that the heart is rapidly pounding or racing, according to Medline Plus. Heart attack sufferers may feel an unpleasant and lucid awareness of the heartbeat, feeling as though skipping or stopped beats occur. This may accompany a pressure or feeling of fullness or squeezing pain in the center of the chest. Women may experience additional symptoms of heartburn, lightheadedness and dizziness. A heart attack sufferer that wakes up in a cold sweat and feels the heart quickly beating should immediately call emergency services for medical care. Quickly treating a heart attack increases a patient's survival rate, MayoClinic.com says.
Chest Pain Extending to Appendages
At the onset of a heart attack, sufferers will immediately feel an increasing pain in the chest. Usually, this pain will extend beyond this region into the shoulders, arm, back or teeth and jaws, according to MayoClinic.com. Additional and prolonged pain in the upper abdomen coupled with increased episodes of chest pain may also occur, quickly waking a sleeping individual. If patients are under the current care of a physician who warned of an impending attack due to high blood pressure or another condition, a prescription of nitroglycerin is usually prescribed. Immediately taking this medication can help reduce the effects of a heart attack before receiving emergency care. Aspirin can also help reduce the damage to the heart by making the blood less likely to clot.
Shortness of Breath
In the resting state, breathing significantly decreases. During a heart attack, this breathing becomes even more diminished as the body struggles to receive enough oxygen, Medline Plus says. Heart disease, which can cause heart attacks, creates breathlessness because the heart is unable to pump enough blood to supply oxygen. During a heart attack, the clogged artery blocks any oxygenated blood from reaching the heart and distributing the much-needed oxygen throughout the body, resulting in shortness of breath. Shortness of breath coupled with any other heart attack symptoms during the sleeping state will usually quickly awaken a person. Immediate medical attention is necessary to preserve life and reduce extensive damage to the heart.
