If a middle-aged man starts clutching his chest, sweating profusely, and gasping for air, everyone knows he’s probably having a heart attack. It’s the “Bollywood drama” depiction of heart problems, says Dr. Basel Ramlawi, a cardiothoracic surgeon with Main Line Health in Philadelphia. “It’s the most dramatic way – but not the most common way – in which patients present.”
Heart problems can actually be quite subtle, he clarifies, and they tend to show up differently in everyone. While someone having a heart attack might, in fact, grab their chest, others – especially women and people with diabetes, who often have nerve damage that prevents them from feeling pain – won’t necessarily experience any chest discomfort at all. Other heart conditions can appear in equally varied ways. Continue reading