Working too hard:
Larry and his fiancé were planning their wedding and preparing to sell his house. They'd been working all day when Larry started feeling sore in his chest. It was a dull, aching soreness - a heavy feeling. It made him feel somewhat short of breath. When he mentioned it to his fiancé, she made him call an ambulance.
Symptoms:
When the ambulance got there, Larry was feeling worse. His chest felt even heavier and he just couldn't catch his breath. He was sweating, and his fiancé said he was pale. The ambulance crew had him lie down on their gurney.
Treatment:
Paramedics gave Larry oxygen and attached a cardiac monitor to his chest. His blood pressure was a little elevated and he was complaining that the pain in his chest was almost unbearable. They started an intravenous line on him. They gave him nitroglycerin, aspirin, and morphine during the transport to the hospital.
Heart Attack:
At the hospital, an EKG showed that Larry had suffered a heart attack (myocardial infarction). A blood clot blocked one of his coronary arteries, obstructing blood flow to his heart muscle. It is this muscle fatigue - and eventually death - that causes the pain Larry was feeling.
Heart attacks may cause severe pain or none at all. They can be associated with shortness of breath and sometimes a cough producing frothy sputum. Untreated, the worst cases of heart attack lead to sudden cardiac arrest. Larry was lucky that his fiancé had the presence of mind to call 911.
