5 MYTHS ABOUT HEART HEALTH

Don't miss a beat—untangling truth from folklore may well help keep your ticker ticking.

- BY TULA KARRAS

1 MYTH: You'll know it if you're having a heart attack.

MYTHBUSTER

While some heart attacks do trigger classic symptoms (crushing chest pain, arm pain, difficulty breathing), you may only feel a heaviness in your chest or notice subtle signs such as dizziness, indigestion, nausea, fatigue, jaw pain, and headache. While chest pain is the most common symptom for both men and women, “women are more likely to also have these vague symptoms,” says Tamara Horwich, M.D., medical director of UCLA’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program. A few reasons you might not recognize what’s going on: Symptoms may come and go, and heart attacks and panic attacks can feel similar. In addition, if you have diabetes you are more likely to have no symptoms or only mild or atypical ones. “Nerve damage from diabetes can cause the signals to manifest as pressure and severe shortness of breath instead of actual pain,” says Sudip Saha, M.D., a cardiologist with Kaiser Permanente in Northern Virginia. The bottom line: If you notice anything abnormal between your navel and your nose that you can’t explain, or you simply “feel like” something is wrong, don’t drive yourself to the ER—call 911.

2 MYTH: Young and/or slim people don't have cardiovascular disease (CVD).