Recognising a heart attack: six signs you should never delay.

Most people picture chest-clutching collapse. The real warning signs are quieter, slower, and often dismissed as gas or fatigue — particularly in women and patients with diabetes.

At Asian Hospital we see roughly four myocardial infarction cases each week. Of those, more than half arrive after the "golden hour" — the first sixty minutes when intervention reverses the most damage. The reason is rarely transport. It’s hesitation.

The six signs

1. 1.

   Pressure, not pain

   A heavy weight or squeezing on the chest, often centre or left, that does not change with breathing.

2. 2.

   Pain that travels

   Down the left arm, into the jaw, or up the back between the shoulder blades.

3. 3.

   Cold sweat without exertion

   Sudden clammy skin while sitting still — particularly with nausea.

4. 4.

   Breathlessness on flat ground

   Walking to the bathroom and feeling air-hungry, in a person who normally would not.

5. 5.

   Indigestion that won’t pass

   A burning ache in the upper stomach that antacids do not relieve.

6. 6.

   Sudden, deep fatigue

   A profound tiredness without obvious cause, sometimes hours or days before the main event.

“If you are unsure, call. We would rather discharge a worried patient than treat a delayed one.”

What to do in the first ten minutes

Sit down. Chew (don’t swallow whole) one 325 mg aspirin if you have it and are not allergic. Call our 24×7 line — we will dispatch the ambulance and prepare the cath lab while you are en route.