Is it a heart attack or just heartburn?

You are going through the day, minding your own business and suddenly you grab your chest in pain and agony.

You get all worked up, because you believe you are having a heart attack. You get rushed to the hospital, just to return a few hours later with a prescription for antacids.

Of course it can also work the other way around, where you just thought it was heartburn...

How do you know the difference between the two (or atleast have some indication)?

In short

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Heartburn is caused by the stomach acid rising into your esophagus and can cause pain in your chest and throat and even sometimes in your jaw. Usually if you belch and the pain goes away, the pain is not related to your heart, but if you have shortness of breath or sweating, it can be related to the heart. Heartburn usually occurs after eating or laying down. It can also be accompanied by a sour taste in your mouth.

The textbook heart attack is usually a crushing pain in your chest, brought on by exursion, but the symptoms can vary widely from person to person. Typical signs include pressure and tightness of the chest and may spread to your arms, jaw, neck and back. You can also experience shortness of breath and fatigue and lightheadedness of dizziness.

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If you are not sure if it is heartburn or a problem with your heart, rather seek medical attention.

There are some things you can do to help if you are prone to heartburn

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stay away from alcohol, cigarettes, citrus, spicy or fatty food
eat smaller more frequent meals
if you get heartburn during the night, lift your head to give gravity a hand and keep the stomach acid where it belongs
do not eat too close to bedtime or late at night
you can ask your doctor for help or get some over the counter medication
if the heartburn is not too severe, you can also drink some milk or sodium bicarbonate to neutralise the acid in your esofagus