Brought to you by Deepak Chopra, MD, Alexander Tsiaras, and TheVisualMD.com Chances are, you will never have a heart attack. If you know your family history of heart disease, keep track of your blood pressure, and stick to healthful habits, your miraculous cardiovascular system should sustain you through a long, productive life. But there’s always the possibility that you or someone close to you will feel the early warning signs of a heart attack. Being able to identify those signs and take the right action immediately could save a life. During a heart attack, a blockage in the arteries starves the heart of the oxygen it needs to do its job. Left untreated for too long, the heart muscle begins to break down, sometimes suffering permanent damage and eventually causing death. But men and women can feel dramatically different symptoms when a heart attack begins. Women are more likely than men to have undetected “silent” heart attacks, that may involve nausea, fatigue and pain in the arm, back or jaw. Men are more likely to experience severe chest pain and heart pounding. Because women’s symptoms are more subtle and distinct from men’s symptoms, those who have heart attacks are less likely to get a prompt diagnosis and seek treatment. Some wait to see if their symptoms improve, sometimes for hours after the first twinge of discomfort. There is no upside in waiting out the early warning signs.Learn more about keeping track of your heart health:TheVisualMD.com: Baseline Your Health