I had a heart attack about a week and a half ago. I'm 52, female, and recently (month ago) had a normal EKG and normal cholesterol levels. On a Friday, I mowed my one-acre yard. Later, I went out to eat Mexican food, where I overindulged. On coming back home minor chest pain started (at the center of chest above my breasts). The pain came and went over and over, and I thought it was indigestion. This continued into the next day, Saturday. Sunday I felt better, with less pains, and I thought it was going away. Sunday night about 1 AM the pain came back much worse, and did not go away, no matter what position I was in. The pain was mainly in chest, but radiating down both arms and up into jaw. It was an all-encompassing ache and I didn't know how I would survive if it didn't stop. I was taken to hospital where I was told it was a heart attack and I needed a stent. It was performed quickly and no further problems yet.

I'm a 49-year-old female. Everything started at work with sharp chest pains that lasted a couple of minutes and went away. My symptoms re-appeared a couple of hours later and went away, but by the evening I had a couple more with shorter intervals. At 3am next morning it felt as though I had airway infection and that was the cause of the sharp chest pains. By 5am both arms felt heavy and uncomfortable, was admitted to hospital by 8.30am after which the vomiting started. Did not realize it was a heart attack until stents were put in, and even then it was hard to believe.

My symptoms of a heart attack were: a very sore throat, which was present for a couple of days before heart attack, pain down both arms from shoulder to elbows, sweating, feeling faint, and like someone was sitting on my chest, also short of breath. It turns out my heart was 80% blocked and I had a second attack in the hospital. After being sent to a heart centre, a dye test was performed, and a stent was put in place.

I am a 53 year old woman, a junior high school teacher. I started to take my dog for a walk, and suddenly felt a tremendous weight on my chest. This was followed by a sharp chest pain that increased and then went down my left arm. I returned home and called the doctor, and was told to come right in. The EKG looked normal, but the blood test was positive for a heart attack. I passed a stress test, but had another heart attack 5 minutes later. The angiogram showed two blocked arteries. I had a stiff neck for three weeks prior to the attack, and tooth pain for 6 months, along with 5 years of migraines. Now all that is gone. I have low cholesterol, low blood pressure, not overweight, no family history.

In June my very active and healthy 75 year old mother complained of a pain in her shoulder. Nothing great, just a dull ache. In August she complained of a cramp in her neck that was very uncomfortable, but went away. In September she was diagnosed with a 70, 80 and 90% blockage to her heart. In October she died after unsuccessful open-heart surgery left her already damaged heart too weak to supply blood to her organs. It's relatively quiet, alarmingly quick, and if you're not paying close attention, merciless. Older women MUST act on any of these symptoms immediately.

I was up late and shortly after getting in bed, my upper jaw and teeth began to hurt badly. Within 2 to 5 minutes, the pain went to the middle of my chest and stayed there. No other pain or symptoms at all. I am 71 and had never been advised that I had bad cholesterol readings, although personal review of old and recent lipid tests showed I did not have good levels and every doctor who saw all those tests never once told me about the high cholesterol. According to those results alone, I should have been on statins for years. They might have prevented my heart disease. My wife had one blood test showing high cholesterol, and one of the same doctors started her on statins. Two of the negligent doctors were and are cardiologists. One I fired for carelessness and refusal to assist me with a VA disability claim. The other seemed to know his business and gave me a series of tests and a complete cardiac clearance 3 months before my heart attack. My last two lipid panels are completely normal and I now demand the actual numbers. Thank God I did not have much damage and have been cleared for strenuous exercise. I take my medications faithfully, have lost the little extra weight I was carrying, and eat a heart-healthy diet. I ride a bike, walk my dog and if called for, do some heavy work for exercise.

Hello, I'm a 12 year old female and my dad just had a heart attack. He's doing really well. He was taking down the swimming pool in the backyard when he came in complaining about his chest hurting. A couple of minutes later he was sweating really bad. Then his arms went numb. So my grandmother took him to the ER. He always wanted to fly in an airplane...He didn't fly in an airplane but he did in a helicopter. He has high blood pressure, cholesterol, and we have had family problems with heart attacks in the past also. He did smoke too. I'm sure that heart attack will wake him up soon, and he'll realize...realize that we'll need him more than ever, but he'll need us also.