If you mean warning signs that your heart may be in serious trouble, these are important to recognize. They don’t necessarily mean heart failure or a heart attack, but they warrant medical attention—especially if they’re new, severe, or worsening.
7 warning signs
- Chest pressure, squeezing, or discomfort — particularly if it lasts several minutes or comes and goes.
- Shortness of breath — especially with minimal activity or at rest.
- Pain spreading to the arm, shoulder, back, neck, jaw, or upper abdomen.
- Unusual or extreme fatigue or weakness, particularly when it’s new or unexplained.
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting.
- Persistent or racing/irregular heartbeats, especially when accompanied by dizziness, chest discomfort, or breathlessness.
- Cold sweating, nausea, or vomiting occurring together with other concerning symptoms.
Symptoms aren’t always dramatic. Women, older adults, and people with diabetes can have less typical heart-attack symptoms, sometimes with unusual fatigue, nausea, back/jaw discomfort, or shortness of breath rather than obvious chest pain.
🚨 When it’s an emergency
If you currently have chest pressure/discomfort, significant breathing difficulty, fainting, or symptoms suggesting a heart attack, call your local emergency service immediately rather than waiting to see if it goes away. Rapid treatment can reduce heart damage.
Also, these symptoms cannot diagnose heart disease by themselves. A clinician may need an examination, ECG, blood tests such as cardiac troponin, and other testing to determine the cause.
