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Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery

What is a heart attack?A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, happens when a part of the heart muscle doesn’t get enough blood.

The more time that passes without treatment to restore blood flow, the greater the damage to the heart muscle.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the main cause of heart attack. A less common cause is a severe spasm, or sudden contraction, of a coronary artery that can stop blood flow to the heart muscle.

What are the symptoms of heart attack?The major symptoms of a heart attack are

  • Chest pain or discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center or left side of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or that goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.
  • Feeling weak, light-headed, or faint. You may also break out into a cold sweat.
  • Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back.
  • Pain or discomfort in one or both arms or shoulders.
  • Shortness of breath. This often comes along with chest discomfort, but shortness of breath also can happen before chest discomfort.


Other symptoms of a heart attack could include unusual or unexplained tiredness and nausea or vomiting. Women are more likely to have these other symptoms. Learn more about women and heart disease.
Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack.1 Learn more facts about heart attack and heart disease.

Call 9-1-1 if you notice symptoms of a heart attack.If you notice the symptoms of a heart attack in yourself or someone else, call 9-1-1 immediately. The sooner you get to an emergency room, the sooner you can get treatment to reduce the amount of damage to the heart muscle. At the hospital, health care professionals can run tests to find out if a heart attack is happening and decide the best treatment.

In some cases, a heart attack requires cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or an electrical shock (defibrillation) to the heart to get the heart pumping again. Bystanders trained to use CPR or a defibrillator may be able to help until emergency medical personnel arrive.

Remember, the chances of surviving a heart attack are better the sooner emergency treatment begins.

What are the risk factors for heart attack?

Several health conditions, your lifestyle, and your age and family history can increase your risk for heart disease and heart attack. These are called risk factors. About half of all Americans have at least one of the three key risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and smoking.2
Some risk factors cannot be controlled, such as your age or family history. But you can take steps to lower your risk by changing the factors you can control.

Learn more about risk factors for heart disease and heart attack.

What can I do to recover after a heart attack?

Take our quizexternal icon to see how much you know about cardiac rehabilitation.

If you’ve had a heart attack, your heart may be damaged. This could affect your heart’s rhythm and its ability to pump blood to the rest of the body. You may also be at risk for another heart attack or conditions such as stroke, kidney disorders, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

You can lower your chances of having future health problems following a heart attack with these steps:

  • Physical activity—Talk with your health care team about the things you do each day in your life and work. Your doctor may want you to limit work, travel, or sexual activity for some time after a heart attack.
  • Lifestyle changes—Eating a healthier diet, increasing physical activity, quitting smoking, and managing stress—in addition to taking prescribed medicines—can help improve your heart health and quality of life. Ask your health care team about attending a program called cardiac rehabilitation to help you make these lifestyle changes.
  • Cardiac rehabilitation--Cardiac rehabilitation is an important program for anyone recovering from a heart attack, heart failure, or other heart problem that required surgery or medical care. Cardiac rehab is a supervised program that includes
    • Physical activity
    • Education about healthy living, including healthy eating, taking medicine as prescribed, and ways to help you quit smoking
    • Counseling to find ways to relieve stress and improve mental health


A team of people may help you through cardiac rehab, including your health care team, exercise and nutrition specialists, physical therapists, and counselors or mental health professionals.

More Information


​References

  1. Benjamin EJ, Muntner P, Alonso A, Bittencourt MS, Callaway CW, Carson AP, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2019 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2019;139(10):e56–528.
  2. Fryar CD, Chen T-C, Li X. Prevalence of uncontrolled risk factors for cardiovascular disease: United States, 1999–2010 pdf icon[PDF-494K]. NCHS data brief, no. 103. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2012. Accessed May 9, 2019.


Page last reviewed: January 11, 2021
Content source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion , Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention

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Focusing on Health Equity

Heart disease, stroke, and their modifiable risk factors are experienced disproportionately throughout the U.S. population based on race/ethnicity, social determinants of health, and geography. Structural racism, discriminatory economic policies, and other systemic factors have contributed to these disparities by increasing financial stress, creating distrust of the medical system, curtailing access to quality health care, and segregating populations into unsafe and unhealthy neighborhoods. These stressors limit certain populations’ chance to be healthy, for example, by limiting their ability to:

  • Pay for medications, home blood pressure devices, or preventive services like cardiac rehabilitation.
  • Get help for nicotine dependence.
  • Exercise safely.
  • Breath smoke- and particle pollution-free air.


Million Hearts® 2027 aims to advance health equity through specific policies, processes, and practices that provide fair access to resources and opportunities that enable cardiovascular health for all, with a deliberate emphasis on several populations:

Pregnant and Postpartum Women with Hypertension
People from Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups
People with Behavioral Health Issues Who Use Tobacco
People with Lower Incomes
People Who Live in Rural Areas or Other 'Access Deserts 'Tools and Resources
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Page last reviewed: February 1, 2022
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention

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Cardiac Rehabilitation Collaborative (CRC)

The Million Hearts® Cardiac Rehabilitation Collaborative (CRC) is an open forum of multi-disciplinary professionals taking action to help at least 70% of eligible patients participate in cardiac rehabilitation (CR).
The CRC meets virtually on a quarterly basis to exchange information, ideas, and resources to advance progress across strategies outlined in the CRC Action Plan. This strategic planning document is updated every year to advance progress towards the CRC target.

What began as a small work group of subject matter experts has developed into an active group of more than 450 members from more than 230 organizations and agencies following a “road mapexternal icon” of action steps and best practices to increase CR referral, enrollment, and adherence. Members include CR professionals, clinicians and health care teams, hospital and health system administrators, CR participants and their family members, payors, innovators, and other stakeholders who are committed to preventing patients from having a secondary cardiovascular event.

To join the listserv and receive invitations to the quarterly CRC meetings, please email MillionHeartsCRC@cdc.gov with the subject “Request to join the CRC.”

Select Resources Developed or Informed by CRC membersFor Hospitals and Health Systems:


​For Payors:


For Researchers and Innovators:


​See our cardiac rehabilitation webpage to access materials for clinicians and cardiac rehabilitation teams, patients, and other partners.
Resources and Key Publications


Page last reviewed: February 2, 2022
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention

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​Optimizing Care

For people with and at risk for cardiovascular disease, receiving optimal care via preventative services, medications, and acquired skills is necessary for reducing the likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke. Million Hearts® 2027 specifically focuses on achieving a 20% improvement on the ABCS of cardiovascular disease prevention, though we will continue to recognize champions who are able to achieve ≥ 80% performance.  Cardiac rehabilitation is an evidence-based way to attend to the ABCS for people with qualifying events.

Million Hearts® 2027 Targets

  • 20% improvement on the ABCS of cardiovascular disease prevention.
    • Appropriate Aspirin or Anticoagulant use
    • Blood pressure control
    • Cholesterol management
    • Smoking cessation
  • Ensure at least 70% participation in cardiac rehabilitation by appropriate patients.


Find out more about Million Hearts® 2027 strategies by clicking on the links below.

Optimizing Care


Page last reviewed: February 4, 2022
Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention

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Use these resources in your practice to help you and your team work to prevent heart disease.

Tools and Training

Use these resources in your practice to help you and your team work to prevent heart disease.
Health professionals can access a variety of tools, resources, and training materials to develop and support programs that focus on preventing heart disease.
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Guidelines and Recommendations


Public Health Programs


ToolsUse these tools from Million Hearts® to enhance your heart disease and stroke prevention and treatment efforts.


Training

  • Roadmap for State Program Planning
    A Web-based resource for training and information to help build the competencies needed by state Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) Program Coordinators. It provides suggested steps for carrying out requirements of the HDSP Program, as well as easy online access to training, tools, and other resources needed for successful program development and implementation. The Roadmap offers information on key areas of programmatic activities for developing and implementing a heart disease and stroke prevention program.


Data and Statistics


Maps

  • Heart Disease and Stroke Maps
    County-by-county rates of heart disease and stroke mortality and hospitalization in the United States, viewable by state, racial/ethnic group, and gender. CDC collaborates with each state to produce the maps.
  • PLACES: Local Data for Better Health
    PLACES, a collaboration between CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation, allows local health departments and jurisdictions regardless of population size and urban-rural status to better understand the burden and geographic distribution of health-related outcomes in their areas and assist them in planning public health interventions.


PodcastsListen to CDC podcasts for reliable health and safety information when and where you want it.

  • A Cup of Health with CDC: Take the Pressure Off Your Heart
    Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects nearly one in three adults in America. It’s a major cause of heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in the U.S. In this podcast, Dr. Carma Ayala discusses the importance of controlling blood pressure.
    Date released: 3/01/18
  • A Cup of Health with CDC: Rehab for the Heart
    In this podcast, Dr. Fleetwood Loustalot discusses the importance of getting cardiac rehab after a heart attack.
    Date released: 8/24/17


More Information



Page last reviewed: December 21, 2021
Content source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion , Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention