Heartburn or heart attack: Can you tell the difference?
Kathryn Czaplinski
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Heartburn or heart attack: Can you tell the difference?

With all the indulging that’s done over the holiday season, it’s easy to write off burning and pain in the chest to heartburn and carry on. But did you know that more people die from heart attacks during the last week of December than at any other time of the year?

Given your life is literally on the line, it’s important to understand how heart attacks and heartburn differ and what symptoms should make you concerned.

Even though the symptoms of heartburn and a heart attack—a painful sensation or feeling of pressure at the center of your chest—can be nearly indistinguishable, the causes of the discomfort are quite different.

In the case of a heart attack, pain is experienced when one of the arteries supplying blood to the heart becomes clogged. Heartburn, on the other hand, occurs when acid in the stomach flows back up the esophagus, causing a burning sensation or pain in the center of your chest. So, despite its name, heartburn has nothing to do with your heart, but the location of the pain experienced is often very close to the heart.

While both conditions can lead to a painful sensation or feeling of pressure at the center of your chest, there are some symptoms unique to each that can help you determine if you’re facing a life-threatening medical emergency or not. For example:

  • Heartburn tends to occur after eating and causes temporary discomfort or burning anywhere from the upper abdomen to the throat.
  • A heart attack can cause sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness or lightheadedness; nausea and/or vomiting, weakness or discomfort in the arm or shoulder, and pain, numbness, or tingling in the neck or jaw.
  • Heartburn cause bloating, belching, a bad taste in the mouth, a sore throat, or difficulty swallowing. 
  • A heart attacks can occur at any time and may come on slowly or very suddenly with symptoms ranging from mild to severe
  • Heartburn is often described as a burning or stabbing sensation while the pain from a heart attack is said to feel like pressure, tightness, squeezing, or heaviness.

In many cases, even healthcare providers cannot tell the difference between heartburn and a heart attack by symptoms alone. Further complicating things is the fact that the symptoms of a heart attack can vary dramatically from person to person and are often strikingly different between men and women. Additional screenings, including electrocardiograms (ECGs) and blood work, are essential to ensuring the correct diagnosis.

Anyone who suspects that they or someone else is having a heart attack should immediately call 9-1-1 or go to the emergency room. It’s always better to learn you have heartburn at the hospital than to remain at home and suffer a life-altering—or -ending—heart attack.

If you are experiencing recurring heartburn, contact your doctor. Left untreated it can lead to serious problems including inflammation and narrowing of the esophagus, dental decay, aspiration pneumonia, and even cancer.

Scott Rogge, MD, FACC, is the medical director at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center Cardiology.

 

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Resuming Regular Care

So many important medical appointments were booked for March and April and canceled during the height of the pandemic. Now we are beginning to refocus on the fact that skipping appointments, even if you are feeling well now, could become harmful.

One important group of patients that we are eager to see are those with serious chronic conditions. These diseases require patients to see their primary care provider or a specialist at least once a year and sometimes far more frequently than that. Those with heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for instance, all require regular contact with your provider.

Another group of patients we'd like to see are those with new medical concerns. We know that new medical concerns don't stop during a pandemic. Some conditions, like depression and anxiety, are far more prevalent during a pandemic than before. In many cases, new conditions are easiest to treat when patients first notice symptoms, and delaying care for these conditions can be dangerous.

Even regular care for those who are healthy is as important as ever. Other diseases—cancer in particular—haven't gone away. So, if you would normally be getting a screening such as a colonoscopy or mammogram, it's time to schedule an appointment. Many cancers can be detected and treated early with better outcomes. We can only expect those good results, if people are screened.

For children, regular vaccines are very important. If a big portion of the population neglects to get important childhood vaccines on schedule, we may be susceptible to outbreaks of measles or whooping cough.

There are many steps we have taken to improve safety for those seeking medical care. The first one is the availability of telemedicine. If the condition you are seeking treatment for does not require diagnostics or a physical exam, your provider can meet you virtually using any Internet-enabled device or over the phone. See details here.

If you do need to come to the office, you will notice check-ins at entrances, where staff check patients and visitors for respiratory symptoms and ensure that all are masked. You'll also notice efforts to space the waiting rooms to improve social distancing.

So how do you get the care you need?

  • If you have a primary care provider, call in to see what you may have missed during the pandemic. Did you miss an appointment to manage a chronic condition? Also share any new health concerns you have and check that you and your family members are up to date on all of your screenings and vaccinations.
  • If you don’t have a regular doctor, it makes sense to get one now. Locally, call the find-a-provider line at 802-447-5007 for a directory of practices that are accepting new patients.
  • Those with time-sensitive medical needs can use ExpressCare, a walk-in clinic, on the hospital campus in Bennington. Be sure to call ahead to 802-440-4077 if you have respiratory symptoms.
  • For Emergency Care, always come directly to the SVMC Emergency Department.

Most off all, we want our patients to know that we are here for them. There is no longer a need to delay medical care, whether for known conditions, new concerns, or preventive care. In every step we take, we are protecting patients against COVID-19 and helping patients with all of their other medical needs, too.

Bob Schwartz, MD, is associate medical director of Dartmouth- Hitchcock Putnam Physicians at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington and a family medicine physician at SVMC Northshire Campus in Manchester.

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