The pain associated with a heart attack differs from person to person. Many people describe it as a heavy pressure or squeezing sensation in the center of their chest. Others report a burning or stabbing feeling. At times the pain may radiate to the arm, jaw, or back. The intensity of the pain is not an indicator of the degree of heart damage that may be occurring.
Some people experience no symptoms during a heart attack.
A characteristic of chest pain associated with a heart attack is that it is often unrelenting. Once it begins there is usually nothing that you can do at home to stop it. The pain does not improve with rest, position changes, or over the counter medications. Frequently patients experiencing a heart attack, or myocardial infarction as it is called in the medical community, describe other symptoms associated with the chest pain. These may include sweating, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations, paleness, nausea and vomiting and an anxious feeling, with a sense of impending doom.