My symptoms were; pain in my right arm from my shoulder extending down past my elbow and my fingers were numb, chest pressure (not pain) it felt as if gravity was pulling my chest through my back, sharp stabbing pain in my back between my shoulder blades, nausea, I felt very hot, sweating, shortness of breath, light headed and my heart rate felt like it had tripled. And yes, I am a woman.

In regards to your question though… heart disease. I ignored my heart condition for a long time for alot of dumb reasons. I knew there was a problem but I didn't want to have to deal with it and I didn't want to admit it to anyone or myself. The first "clue" is if you have a family history (parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles) of heart disease or Coronary Artery Disease. If you do then there is a better than average chance you have it as well. The most important thing you can do at this point is to get your cholesterol checked. Some signs that you may have heart disease is if when you are exerting yourself, you get any one of the sensations discussed above on an annoying level. It doesn't have to be constant, it can come and go. Because mine came and went I made an excuse that it couldn't be my heart. After all, if I *really* had a heart problem the symptoms wouldn''t present themselves and just leave, I told myself they should be constant. I must have only had gas. It was an excuse I told myself for literally years. As time passed my "episodes" increased in frequency and intensity. If I over exerted myself I would have shortness of breath and a low degree of chest pain or pressure. I could feel my heart pulsating. There were times I had numbness in my fingers (poor circulation) and my feet would "tingle". Also, my skin would get a "blotched" look and the skin under my finger and toenails would take on a blue look. All of this was due to poor circulation because of the condition of my arteries. If you have blocked arteries in your heart there is a good chance you have the same condition in your arteries in other areas of your body. If you are experiencing any of the above you need to get with a Dr and request a stress test.
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More important than anything is that should you ever experience chest pain, do not wait, please call 911.
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I'm a paramedic.

A heart attack is simply when a clot dislodges from a larger artery and ends up in one on the heart. Without oxygen, tissue dies, and the necrotic tissue is on your heart. Your heart eventually loses a section and is unable to perform the task of pumping. That is when you need a bypass.

Also, a heart atack usually comes along right after some type of small excercise, as the higher speed of the blood rushing through the arteries is what dislodges the plaque in the firs place.
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