Heartburn Symptoms Can Be Misleading

While everyone has experience what they think is heartburn at some point in their life, they may not know what exactly heartburn symptoms are.  It can be very misleading as there are many different causes that trigger heartburn symptoms and there is a wide range of heartburn symptoms that not everyone will experience an episode the same way.  Many of the heartburn symptoms that people may experience may lead them to believe they are having a heart attack or experiencing some type of heart problem and not even consider it to be heartburn at all. 

It is often hard to tell the difference between a heart attack and heartburn symptoms and even some medical professionals will have a hard time distinguishing the two when the patient is relaying the symptoms to them.  Often times when heartburn symptoms mimic that of a heart attack it is best to seek the advise of a professional in determining what you are experiencing.  While they can be very similar, heartburn symptoms are different from heart attack symptoms. 

The ability to recognize the difference will help in diagnosing and treating the problems to begin with.

Differences Between The Two

While heartburn is thought to be a problem with the heart it is really a problem with your throat in the chest area that is why many people mistakenly think it is a heart attack.  Heartburn symptoms are very similar to a heart attack especially if you have never had either before and do not know what each one feels like.  Heartburn symptoms are generally a sharp, burning paining in the chest area. 

A heart attack feels like tightness or a pressure in the center of the chest.  Heartburn symptoms do not always spread to the neck or shoulders but they could and this is why they are sometimes mistaken for a heart attack. 

Everyone assumes that once they are feeling a pain in their chest and it moves to their arms they are experiencing a heart attack.  Unfortunately heartburn symptoms can move to the arms similar to a heart attack but they are rarely accompanied by a cold sweat which is usually what you will see when you are experiencing a heart attack.  Heartburn indigestion symptoms will often be experienced after a meal or when lying down after a meal.  Heart attack can occur at any time. 

Heartburn symptoms may appear after exercising or during periods of stress and anxiety which is similar to when a heart attack may occur which is why the other symptoms of heartburn should be noted if they are experience to help in distinguishing exactly what you are experiencing.