More than half of the daily 4,000 deaths occur outside the hospital during the first three hours of symptoms.
People often dismiss heart attack symptoms as indigestion.
Key symptoms include a heaviness, pressure or tightness in the chest or shortness of breath. This pressure can spread to the neck, shoulder, arms or back. A decrease in blood flow to the heart causes heart attacks. Risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, and a family history of heart attacks. Any sudden increased demand of the heart, such as shoveling snow, excessive eating, or even grief, may cause a decreased supply of blood to the heart, which can trigger a heart attack.